From pumps to pumps

Mechanical engineering students at Rice University in Houston developed the PediPower, a shoe-mounted generator that converts motion into energy as a power source for cardiac devices. Their initial goal was to make a generator that provided a reliable and constant source of power. The next step is to make PediPower smaller and lighter. Houston-based Cameron, which is collaborating with the Texas Heart Institute to design pumps for an artificial heart, approached the students with the project.