Biomedical applications of batteries

An overview is presented of the many ways in which batteries and battery materials are used in medicine and in biomedical studies. These include the use of batteries as power sources for motorised wheelchairs, surgical tools, cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators, dynamic prostheses, sensors and monitors for physiological parameters, neurostimulators, devices for pain relief, and iontophoretic, electroporative and related devices for drug administration. The various types of battery and fuel cell used for this wide range of applications will be considered, together with the potential harmful side effects, including accidental ingestion of batteries and the explosive nature of some of the early cardiac pacemaker battery systems.