U-M researchers develop heartbeat powered battery

One word: Piezoelectricity Researchers at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan have developed a battery prototype that can take the motion generated by a heartbeat and use it to recharge pacemakers. Excerpt: "For the latest study the team measured heartbeat-induced vibrations in the chest. They then used a 'shaker' to reproduce the vibrations in the laboratory and connected it to a prototype cardiac energy harvester they had developed.Measurements of the prototype's performance, based on a wide range of simulated heartbeats, showed the energy harvester generated more than 10 times the power required by modern pacemakers." Read the rest here.