The objective of this research is to develop an energy scavenging device for use in both medical and non-medical applications. The primary focus will be on intracranial implantable systems for treatment of neurological disorders such as epilepsy. The approach is to convert fluctuations in intracranial pressure to electrical power through the displacement of a suspended diaphragm with an electrode. To increase the deflection, pressure-instigated phase change of a liquid will be employed to collapse a chamber and effectively amplify the deflection due to the pressure variation.
Intellectual Merit: The ability to harvest energy in highly-sensitive areas of the body will allow for a wide range of truly minimally-invasive and autonomous implantable systems which will be able to benefit from the advantages provided by MEMS, nanotechnology, and integrated circuits.
Broader Impacts: The broader impacts of this research are numerous with the most significant being the quality of life of people suffering from neurological disorders such as epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, dystonia, essential tremor, and depression. Minimally-invasive and fully autonomous implants can help make these ailments unnoticeable to the patient. In addition, this research will help attract underrepresented groups at the graduate-level through recruitment, and at the undergraduate-level to engineering through exposure of this work to undergraduate students in the classroom and through supervised work, as well as Northeastern University's Building Bridges program with high school students, many of whom are from predominantly minority schools in the area.
