Development of an electrostatic generator that harnesses the motion of a living body - Fundamental study

We studied a variable-capacitance-type electrostatic generator that could potentially be used to permanently supply electrical energy to an apperatus for in vivo use such as a cardiac pacemaker. The generating system consists of a battery for supplying electric charge, a variable capacitor for energy conversion, a capacitor for electrical energy storage and two rectifiers. A honeycomb-type variable capacitor whose capacitance varies from 54 to 290 nF was created. It was possible to generate a maximum electrical energy of approximately 14.3 μJ/cycle. We found that the electrical energy for driving a cadiac pacemaker can be generated by using the honeycomb-type variable capacitor with higher capacitance.