Kim Sang-woo, a professor in the School of Advanced Materials Sciences and Engineering, and his team have developed the world’s first biodegradable frictional electric generator that can dismantle and remove medical devices inside a body for a short time without any additional surgeries by modulating ultrasonic stimulation. This technology promotes the biodegradation of elements by injecting ultrasonic waves into a body and minimizing potential toxic factors. The research team has proved that frictional electric generators completely biodegrade inside a body in a short time when injected in the harmless level of ultrasonic waves to humans at any time, though with a low level of ultrasonic waves, the generator demonstrates a stable energy generation characteristic. By inserting a frictional electric generator into pig tissue, which is similar to human anatomy, the research team has found out that it could biodegrade inside a body within tens of minutes. Prof. Kim said, “It is expected that this technology provides a new milestone to next-generation’s medical device industry like electroceutical devices, in particular.” The study was published on January 7th in Science Advances, an international journal published by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS).