Energy Harvesting Techniques and Applications to Medical and Healthcare Fields

Abstract

　In recent years, energy harvesting techniques have been applied to the devices which require stand-alone operation. Although this technique has been used for a long time, such as solar cell supplied calculator, it has received a spotlight recently because of increasing needs for mobile, wireless and ubiquitous devices. In this review, common energy harvesting techniques are explained first. Then, the applications to medical and healthcare fields are introduced.