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New fuel cell opens way for artificial hearts May 13 2005 at 09:10AM Tokyo - A Japanese research team has developed a fuel cell that runs on b lood without using toxic substances, opening the way for use in artifici al hearts and other organs. The biological fuel cell uses glucose, a sugar in blood, with a non-toxic substance used to draw electrons from glucose, said the team led by Mat suhiko Nishizawa, bio-engineering professor at the graduate school of st ate-run Tohoku University. "Since the electron mediator is based on Vitamin K3, which exists in huma n bodies, it excels in safety and could in the future generate power fro m blood as an implant-type fuel cell," the group said in a statement. Most other bio-fuel cells under study use a metal complex, spawning conce rn about harm if used for implants. The newly developed cell in the size of a tiny coin is able to generate 0 ,2 milliwatts of electricity, enough to power a device that measures blo od sugar level and transmits data elsewhere, the group said.
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