Oak Ridge Develops Thin-Film Battery

Oak Ridge Micro-Energy Inc. of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is developing a thin film rechargeable lithium microbattery for devices which will be implanted deep inside the body and enable physicians to assess and treat a variety of medical conditions in a noninvasive manner. The devices will have the ability to frequently monitor and treat potentially life-threatening conditions and to communicate with an external system. They can either serve as a sensor, measuring parameters such as temperature and radiation dosage, or as an activator for localized drug therapies and nerve or tissue stimulation. The battery for these devices measures about 0.25" x 0.08" x 0.0003" thick.

“We are pleased with our development progress and are hopeful that this project will provide a significant revenue stream as soon as third quarter 2004,” says Mark Meriwether, president and chief executive officer. “This joint project [with an unnamed company] will lead to the world’s first miniature implantable medical device of extremely small size that is fully contained and self-powered by our thin-film battery.”