|
Urine-Powered Battery DevelopedSingapore physicists create first paper battery that generates electricity from urine. Technology is an ideal match for cheap, disposable healthcare test-kits.
SINGAPORE -- Physicists in Singapore have succeeded in creating the first paper battery that generates electricity from urine. This new battery will be the perfect power source for cheap, disposable healthcare test-kits for diseases such as diabetes. This research was published Aug. 15 in the Institute of Physics' Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering. Scientists in research groups around the world are trying to design ever smaller "biochips" that can test for a variety of diseases at once, give instant results, and, crucially, be mass produced cheaply. But until now, no one has been able to solve the problem of finding a power source as small and as cheap to fabricate as the detection technology itself. Led by Dr Ki Bang Lee, a research team at Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) have developed a paper battery that is small, cheap to fabricate, and which ingeniously uses the fluid being tested (urine) as the power source for the device doing the testing. The chemical composition of urine is widely used as a way of testing for
tell-tale signs of various diseases and also as an indicator of a person's
general state of health. The concentration of glucose in urine is a useful
diagnostic tool for diabetics. The lead researcher, Dr Lee, envisions a world
where people will easily be able to monitor their health at home using
disposable test-kits that don't need lithium batteries or external power
sources.
Dr. Lee said: "We are striving to develop cheap, disposable credit card-sized biochips for disease detection. Our battery can be easily integrated into such devices, supplying electricity upon contact with biofluids such as urine." The battery unit is made from a layer of paper that is steeped in copper chloride (CuCl) and sandwiched between strips of magnesium and copper. This "sandwich" is then held in place by being laminated, which involves passing the battery unit between a pair of transparent plastic films through a heating roller at 120ΊC. The final product has dimensions of 60 mm x 30 mm, and a thickness of just 1 mm (a little bit smaller than a credit card). Writing in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, Lee describes how the battery was created and quantifies its performance. Using 0.2 ml of urine, they generated a voltage of around 1.5 V with a corresponding maximum power of 1.5 mW. They also found that the battery performances (such as voltage, power or duration) may be designed or adjusted by changing the geometry or materials used. "Our urine-activated battery would be integrated into biochip systems
for healthcare diagnostic applications," says Lee. He envisions a world
where people will easily be able to monitor their health at home, seeking
medical attention only when necessary. "These fully-integrated biochip
systems have a huge market potential," adds Lee. ###
SOURCE
CONTACT Contact: David Reid, Press Officer, Institute of Physics FeedbackRelated Coverage
Google News > Pee Battery
|
| New
Invention: A Battery Powered by Urine FOX News - By Miranda Hitti. "We are striving to develop cheap, disposable, credit card-sized biochips for disease detection. Our battery can ... |
| Scientists
develop pee-powered battery MSNBC - By Bjorn Carey. Scientists have developed a way to turn pee into electricity. And there's plenty were that came from, they point out. ... |
| Hip
Pee Power Techtree.com, India - The technology has been developed by Ki Bang Lee at the Institute of Bio-engineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore. Ki Bang Lee ... |
| Urine-powered
battery for cellphones, health test Hindustan Times, India - Imagine a credit card-sized, urine-powered paper battery that could make healthcare tests cheaper and even charge mobile phones! ... |
| New
micro battery takes the pith Inquirer, UK - BOFFINS IN Singapore have come up with a wizard wheeze for those times when you need an electronic health check while you are on a pub crawl. ... |
| Pee-powered
battery smaller than a credit card New Scientist (subscription), UK - The first urine-powered paper battery has been created by physicists in Singapore. The credit-card sized unit could be a useful ... |
| Urine-powered
battery developed PhysOrg.com, VA - Physicists in Singapore report they have created a paper battery that can generate electricity from urine and can be used in disposable health tests. ... |
| Urine-powered
battery developed Science Daily (press release) - SINGAPORE, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Physicists in Singapore report they have created a paper battery that can generate electricity from ... |
| Scientists
invent pee-powered battery Register, UK - Researchers in Singapore have developed a paper battery that is powered by urine. Despite sounding gloriously silly, the breakthrough ... |
| First
paper battery that generates electricity from urine Medical News Today (press release), UK - Physicists in Singapore have succeeded in creating the first paper battery that generates electricity from urine. This new battery ... |
| 'Urine-power'
battery to help fight disease Scotsman, United Kingdom - The paper-thin device is designed to run cheap, disposable test kits for diseases such as diabetes. Many such tests use the chemical ... |
| Check-up
battery powered by urine Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - By Roger Highfield. A paper battery that generates electricity from urine has been developed by scientists in Singapore to provide ... |
| Urine-activated
paper battery to diagnose diseases soon TODAYonline, Singapore - NEED electricity? All it takes is a drop of urine, the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) discovered. Researchers ... |
| Battery
Runs on Biofluid Red Herring, CA - The Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore says its researchers have created a urine-powered battery for home health tests. ... |
| Battery
powered by urine TechSpot - by Derek Sooman on Tue 16 Aug 2005, 01:25 PM. Surely this is an April fools day joke a battery powered by urine? We must be taking the piss. ... |
| Healthcare
Test Kits Get Urine-Powered Batteries E-Commerce Times - "[Scientists] have been unsuccessful in finding a power source that is as small and as cheap to fabricate as the detection technology itself," the Institute of ... |
| Medical
checks powered by urine Geek.com - The medical world is always looking to create health-checking kits that are easy to mass produce and simple to use. One of the problems ... |
| Urine
Powered Batteries! Are You Taking the Pi TechSmec.com, UK - A paper battery that uses urine as its power source will soon be present in home testing kits for conditions such as diabetes. Up ... |
| Shocking
Results From Urine Tests Science a Gogo - For researchers pioneering new diagnostic methods, the race is on to design ever smaller biochips that can test for a variety of diseases at once, give instant ... |
| Urine
Powered Battery Developed Slashdot - Saeed al-Sahaf writes "Research investment into developing smaller and cheaper chips to process information in disposable health tests has been significant ... |
| Urine-Powered
Battery Released in Singapore LinuxInsider.com, CA - The new battery, made from a layer of paper steeped in copper chloride and sandwiched between strips of magnesium and copper, will allow urine being analyzed ... |
| New
Invention: A Battery Powered by Urine WebMD - "We are striving to develop cheap, disposable, credit card-sized biochips for disease detection. Our battery can easily be integrated ... |
| Urine
Charge With New Battery WebProNews, KY - In the Far East, scientists have developed a paper battery that draws power from the ultimate portable source - the bladder. London's ... |
| Scientists
Announce Urine-Powered Battery TechNewsWorld, CA - "Our urine-activated battery would be integrated into biochip systems for healthcare diagnostic applications," said Dr. Ki Bang Lee, who heads the research ... |
| Urine-Powered
Battery WorldChanging - Inexpensive, easily-made medical sensors and disposable testing kits need inexpensive, easily-made power sources, but until now, these have been difficult to ... |
 |
Urine-activated
Paper Batteries for Biosystems Medgadget.com, CA - Ladies and gentlemen, today we are talking about the world's first battery powered by wee, no less! According to the Journal of ... |
| Electricity
from urine News-Medical.net, World - According to physicists in Singapore, they have created the first paper battery that generates electricity from urine. They maintain ... |
| New
urine-powered battery DeHavilland, UK - A new battery that runs on urine could lead to cheap, disposable home-testing kits for diabetes and other diseases, Singaporean scientists report today. ... |
| World's
first battery powered by wee developed Life Style Extra, UK - LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - Scientists have created the world's first paper battery that generates electricity - from urine. The new ... |
| SCIENTISTS
have invented a battery which gets its energy from ... Mirror.co.uk, UK - The paper thin unit is designed to run cheap, disposable test kits for diseases such as diabetes. Urine is used to check for the ... |
Page composed by Sterling
D. Allan May 13, 2005
Last updated September 10, 2005
 |
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Lee
K B 2005 "
Feed