Purdue implantable oxygen generator harvests power from externally applied ultrasonics

Purdue’s implantable micro oxygen generator harvests energy from an incoming 2.15-MHz ultrasonic wave using a lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) transducer. Electrical energy from the PZT transducer is rectified to a dc voltage that is then applied to the water in the interstitial fluid through a set of interdigitated electrodes. This separates oxygen and hydrogen in the water in a chemical process called electrolysis.

The oxygen generators were created at Purdue’s Birck Nanotechnology Center. Researchers have tested the devices in pancreatic tumors implanted in mice, showing they generated oxygen, which led to the tumors shrinking faster under treatment. The devices are slightly less than 1-cm long and are inserted into tumors with hypodermic biopsy needles.

Findings are detailed in a research paper appearing online in Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. The paper was written by research assistant professor Teimour Maleki, doctoral students Ning Cao and Seung Hyun Song, Indiana University School of Medicine assistant professor of clinical radiation oncology Song-Chu (Arthur) Ko, and professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering Babak Ziaie.

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