Small but mighty

Here’s one for the Fascinating Little Gizmos file. The Quallion company is making a battery the size of a pencil lead to be implanted to energize artificial neurons that will control, among other things, urinary incontinence. The battery is wrapped in a little coil that will enable it to be recharged from an external electricity source. Another company is making a system that can communicate to and from the device to adjust it and to reprogram it while inside the body.

This is interesting because one of the technologies we’re sure to see much, much more of is implantable devices. But they’ll all need energy and to be able to communicate back and forth across the skin.

And think of the teensy-weensy flashlight you can make!