Cardiothoracic surgeon Tjark Ebels of the UMCG and ENT doctor Freek Dikkers have regularly seen them; children who have swallowed a button cell battery. The well-known 2 cm diameter button cell battery is found in the LED candles we all know from Christmas, in your car key, and in that cute cuddly toy with music. Every parent knows that swallowing a button cell battery can be dangerous for a child, but that the consequences could be so severe is less well known.
As a result, the two doctors felt the need to do something about this and joined forces with TU Delft. Together with Professor Marnix Wagemaker and Research Technician Frans Ooms, they spent the past few years investigating the development of a child-friendly button cell battery. The research resulted in a joint patent application from the UMCG, RUG and TU Delft.
Ebels: “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. In collaboration with TU Delft, we 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. Obviously, that is our mission.”
The same urgency is felt by Dikkers: “More than once, Tjark and I have stood together at the operating table with a child who had swallowed a button cell battery. These are surgeries where we try to save what can be saved. My grandson is also four and that is an extra motivation for me to make a strong case for this.”
The doctors do have a piece of advice for parents: “Ironically, the danger comes from used or dead batteries that parents collect with good intentions and take to the recycling bin every once in a while. Don’t leave empty batteries lying around, but take them away immediately or collect them somewhere your child really can’t reach. And if that does happen: have your child eat honey. Fortunately, almost everyone has this in their pantry. And consult a doctor as soon as possible. If you get there in time, we can help your child properly and limit the damage.”
One of the children who died after swallowing a button battery was American Reese Hamsmith. She would have turned four this month, but she died when she was 1.5 years old. Her mother is the initiator of the annual Button Battery Awareness Day on 12 June. This aims to make parents aware of the dangers of the button battery for small children, as well as to promote laws and regulations regarding a safe battery. Not without success, by the way, as Reese's Law was signed by President Biden in August 2022.
