Edible Battery Design for Bio-Medical applications

Abstract

This thesis is focused on the development of digestible electronics for healthcare. The vision is the development of an edible pill that performs diagnosis inside the body. Any such edible device needs an energy source made of non-toxic materials. This thesis discusses the development of such an energy source. The main idea is based on using a galvanic cell. This thesis constraints itself in exploring Zn/Cu based cells using lemon extract-pectin blend extracts. Cells based on a solid electrolyte, gel based electrolyte and a liquid electrolyte contained in a hardened shell of isomalt are discussed. The load characterisitcs of the cells show promise to deliver energy to power the device for 100 s. Furthermore, the thesis details how the cells could be used as a sensor to sense the pH. To summarize, the thesis develops the means and methods to develop a compact edible power source.