It’s Only Common Sense: The Importance of Setting Realistic Expectations
Marcy’s Musings: The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘Do/Start'
Flexible Batteries a Highlight for Smart Dental Aids
October 27, 2017 | KAUSTEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Smart 3D-printed braces that incorporate nontoxic batteries and lights could reduce the time and costs involved in realigning and straightening teeth.
The orthodontic system, conceptualized by researchers at KAUST, involves placing two near-infrared light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and one lithium-ion battery on every tooth in a semitransparent, 3D-printed dental brace.
The batteries provide energy to turn the near-infrared LEDs on and off, depending on how they are programmed by a dentist, to provide localized light therapy according to the needs of each tooth. Phototherapy enhances bone regeneration and can reduce the time and costs involved in corrective orthodontics. The brace would be removable to allow the batteries to be recharged.
“We started embedding flexible LEDs inside 3D-printed braces, but they needed a reliable power supply,” explains Muhammad Hussain who led the study together with PhD student Arwa Kutbee. “After the incidents with the Samsung Galaxy 7 batteries exploding, we realized that traditional batteries in their current form and encapsulation don’t serve our purpose. So we redesigned the state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery technology into a flexible battery, followed by biosafe encapsulation within the braces to make a smart dental brace.”
The battery was redesigned using a dry-etching technique, which removes the silicon substrate normally found on its back. This process thinned the battery to 2.25mm x 1.7mm and made it flexible. Tests showed that the volumetric energy—the ratio of energy to device size—of the redesigned batteries remained high even after many cycles of continuous operation.
Batteries were then encapsulated in biocompatible soft polymeric materials to prevent the possibility of leakage, making them safe to place in the mouth. As a testament to their biocompatibility, when human embryonic kidney cells were cultured on these batteries over a period of days, they thrived and proliferated. The batteries’ electrochemical performance increased linearly with rising temperature, up to 90°C, making them stable.
Hussain says the system is a preliminary prototype, “which is more than a proof of concept.” The next step, he says, is to conduct clinical trials.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Global PCB Connections: Rigid-flex and Flexible PCBs—The Backbone of Modern Electronics
05/20/2025 | Jerome Larez -- Column: Global PCB ConnectionsIn the past decade, flex and rigid-flex PCB technology has become the fastest-growing market segment. As an increasing number of PCB companies develop the capabilities to fabricate this technology, PCB designers are becoming comfortable incorporating these designs into their products.
Flexible PCB Market to Reach $61.75B by 2032, Driven by the Demand for Compact Electronics, Automotive and Medical Applications
05/16/2025 | Globe NewswireAccording to the SNS Insider, “The Flexible PCB Market was valued at USD 21.42 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $61.75 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 12.52% over the forecast period 2024-2032.”
CEE PCB to Exhibit at The Battery Show Europe 2025
05/14/2025 | CEE PCBTom Yang, CEO of CEE PCB, has announced that the company will exhibit at The Battery Show 2025, held from June 3-5 at the Messe Stuttgart in Stuttgart, Germany, in Booth F69 in Hall 7.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
05/02/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineIn our industry, this week’s must-read features include CEE’s Tom Yang and his perspective on having a global business amidst tariff talk and other challenges. Joe Fjelstadt talks to the “Flexperts,” Nick Koop of TTM and Mark Finstead of Flexible Circuit Technologies. Nolan Johnson interviews the McGucken Group about the importance of empathic leadership in BANI times. NCAB’s Ryan Miller writes about reliability and compliance for building PCBs for medical applications, and surprise, more news from Siemens.
Elephantech: For a Greener Tomorrow
04/16/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineNobuhiko Okamoto is the global sales and marketing manager for Elephantech Inc., a Japanese startup with a vision to make electronics more sustainable. The company is developing a metal inkjet technology that can print directly on the substrate and then give it a copper thickness by plating. In this interview, he discusses this novel technology's environmental advantages, as well as its potential benefits for the PCB manufacturing and semiconductor packaging segments.