The major health threat of the 21^st century is cardiovascular disease, killing one person every two seconds (18.6 million per year worldwide). The majority of cardiovascular diseases are linked to the constriction or blockage of blood vessels. Vascular grafts play a vital role in tackling these diseases by replacing or bypassing damaged vessels (3.6 million per year), particularly in the heart (coronary arteries) and legs (peripheral arteries)

Unfortunately, vascular grafts face high failure rates of up to 50, primarily due to thrombosis and infection, which drastically result in deaths related to cardiovascular diseases. Ideally, one would be able to monitor the performance of vascular grafts and transfer data to initiate medical actions to avoid graft failure. 

The EU-funded Blood2Power project aims to contribute to finding a new power supply mechanism for powering the next-generation vascular graft, the iGraft. The objective is to develop triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), converting body mechanical energy into electrical energy. A miniaturised ultra-low energy consumption power management unit and wireless system will be coupled to the vascular graft, collecting and wirelessly transmitting signals to an external electronic device, such as a smartphone or watch