Toward the Bionic Human: Medical Devices and How they are Powered Esther Takeuchi, UB Distinguished Professor and National Medal Recipient It has been more than 35 years since the first human implant of a lithium battery; a lithium/iodine cell which powered an implantable cardiac pacemaker. Since that time several battery types have been developed and used successfully in a diverse set of implantable medical devices, including pacemakers, neurostimulators, drug pumps, implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs), and heart assist/replacement devices. The cells used in these devices vary, but there are general requirements that remain constant for all the cells, including: safety, reliability, low weight/small size, predictability of performance, low self discharge and end-of-life indication. Dr. Takeuchi will discuss these parameters along with key device performance factors.