In the 21st century, the broad fields of medical science and engineering are more closely linked than ever. Advances in bio-medical technology are driven by combining the detailed knowledge of the processes in the human body with the latest technical innovations in order to diagnose and treat patients more efficiently. One key element of this revolutionary progress is the automated treatment of diseases and continuous monitoring of vital parameters. This is mainly achieved with the help of electronic medical implants and wearable sensors. So far, these devices mainly rely on common batteries as power supplies. With decreasing implant sizes the need for power supplies capable of miniaturization arises. In this thesis, implantable glucose fuel cells are investigated as power supply concepts for medical implants and wearable sensors. Abiotic glucose fuel cells are energy harvesters. They convert the human body’s ambient chemical energy stored in glucose and oxygen to usable electrical energy. In contrast to batteries, they are theoretically able to continuously supply energy to medical implants without the threat of exhaustion. Surgical replacements of implants due to depletion of their power supply would become obsolete. However, body-fluid constituent as for instance amino acids poison the anode’s surface and drastically diminish the performance and lifetime of the glucose fuel cell. Furthermore, the power outputs of abiotic glucose fuel cells are low compared to commonly used batteries preventing them from being a competitive power supply technology for medical implants and wearable sensors. In this dissertation, two major strategies are pursued in order to enhance the applicability of abiotic glucose fuel cells: Developing abiotic glucose fuel cells towards medical applications requiring rather short lifespans, and enhancing the fuel cells’ anodes in order to overcome one or more of the current drawbacks (poisoning issues, poor long-term stability, and low current densities). First, abiotic glucose fuel cells ...


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    Titel :

    Towards abiotic glucose fuel cells as powering concepts for medical implants and sensors


    Beteiligte:
    Frei, Maxi (Autor:in)

    Erscheinungsdatum :

    01.01.2019



    Medientyp :

    Hochschulschrift


    Format :

    Elektronische Ressource


    Sprache :

    Englisch



    Klassifikation :

    DDC:    620 / 629 / 830