Knee Brace
From: NASA Tech Briefs Insider - 02/14/2008

Scientists at the University of Michigan have created a new energy- capturing
knee brace that can generate enough electricity from walking to operate a
portable GPS locator, cell phone, motorized prosthetic joint, or implanted
neurotransmitter. The wearable mechanism works similarly to how regenerative
braking charges a battery in hybrid vehicles, said Arthur Kuo, an associate
professor of mechanical engineering at UM. 

Regenerative brakes collect the kinetic energy that would otherwise be
dissipated as heat when a car slows down. This knee brace harvests the energy
lost when a human brakes the knee after swinging the leg forward to take a
step. "There is power to be harvested from various places in the body, and
you can use that to generate electricity. The knee is probably the best
place," Kuo said. 

The 3.5-pound prototype device is bulky, but the energy harvester itself has
little effect on the wearer. Similar mechanisms could be built into
prosthetic knees and other implantable devices like pacemakers that today
require a battery and periodic surgery to replace that battery. A future
energy harvester might be implanted along with such a device and generate its
own power from walking. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6325

Links:

Arthur Kuo
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~artkuo/

Human dynamo: How energy from your knees could power an Ipod
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=512944&in_page_id=1965

Knee Brace Generates Electricity from Walking
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080207140751.htm

Knee Power - The New Energy Source
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1247426/knee_power__the_new_energy_source/

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Knee brace generates electricity from walking
From: U-M News Service - Michigan Today - 03/2008

A new energy-capturing knee brace can generate enough electricity from
walking to operate a portable GPS locator, a cell phone, a motorized
prosthetic joint. A lighter version could in the future help hikers or
soldiers who don't have easy access to electricity, or could power pacemakers
or neurotransmitters that today require batteries. 

http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2008/mar/knee.php?tr=y&auid=3462194