Open Access

ARTICLE

Recent Techniques for Harvesting Energy from the Human Body

Nidal M. Turab¹, Hamza Abu Owida², Jamal I. Al-Nabulsi^2,*, Mwaffaq Abu-Alhaija¹

1 Department of Networks and Information Security, Faculty of Information Technology, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, 19328, Jordan
2 Medical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, 19328, Jordan

* Corresponding Author: Jamal I. Al-Nabulsi. Email:

(This article belongs to this Special Issue: Sensors and Nano-sensors Technologies for Health-Care Applications)

Computer Systems Science and Engineering 2022, 40(1), 167-177. https://doi.org/10.32604/csse.2022.017973

Received 19 February 2021; Accepted 27 April 2021; Issue published 26 August 2021

Abstract

The human body contains a near-infinite supply of energy in chemical, thermal, and mechanical forms. However, the majority of implantable and wearable devices are still operated by batteries, whose insufficient capacity and large size limit their lifespan and increase the risk of hazardous material leakage. Such energy can be used to exceed the battery power limits of implantable and wearable devices. Moreover, novel materials and fabrication methods can be used to create various medical therapies and life-enhancing technologies. This review paper focuses on energy-harvesting technologies used in medical and health applications, primarily power collectors from the human body. Current approaches to energy harvesting from the bodies of living subjects for self-powered electronics are summarized. Using the human body as an energy source encompasses numerous topics: thermoelectric generators, power harvesting by kinetic energy, cardiovascular energy harvesting, and blood pressure. The review considers various perspectives on future research, which can provide a new forum for advancing new technologies for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases by integrating different energy harvesters with advanced electronics.

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