294
High
Efficiency Thermoelectric Power Source for Long Life Medical Implants--Biophan Technologies, Inc., 150 Lucius
Gordon Dr., Ste. 215, West Henrietta, NY
14586; 408-480-7676; www.biophan.com
Ms. Sarah
Cooper, Principal Investigator, scooper1025@msn.com
Ms. Sarah
Cooper, Business Official, scooper1025@msn.com
DOE Grant No.
DE-FG02-07ER84891
Amount: $100,000
Implantable medical devices are
becoming ever more common for addressing medical conditions, which range from
heart disease to epilepsy to diabetes.
In the
Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The
market for pacemaker and inverter cardiac defibrillator (ICD) batteries is
expected to reach $200M next year.
Although this is an attractive market, the real value of this technology
for biomedical device manufacturers is the additional market share that would
shift to early adopters. Given a choice
of a pacemaker that lasts an average of 15 years, rather than today’s 5 year
average, consumers are more likely to request the longer-lived device. In addition, a reliable power generation source
opens up new possibilities for devices such as artificial hearts, kidneys, and
lungs.