A child-friendly button cell battery
June 12, 2023 – Every year, approximately 2000 children worldwide die after swallowing a button cell battery. In recent years, the University Medical Centre Groningen of the University of Groningen (RUG/UMCG) and TU Delft have been researching the development of a child-friendly button cell battery. The research resulted in a joint patent application.
When the battery is swallowed, the electrical charge generated by the battery will immediately begin to dissolve tissue, leaving a child with permanent damage or, in the worst case, death. Researchers of the Groningen State University (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, RUG) and TU Delft now have developed a fused button cell battery. This fuse automatically interrupts the flow of the button cell battery within minutes after ingestion. This power interruption does not only prevent serious injury or death, but also tissue damage which is less severe. The good thing is that the Fused Button Battery system is compatible with all standard button cell battery manufacturing processes. Now that there is a patent application, a team of professionals should actually get to work on developing the button battery so that the child-friendly button battery will become the standard.
