The same cells electric eels use to shock predators and prey could be engineered to power implanted biomedical devices, say US researchers.

The researchers, from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Yale University, have designed an electric cell based on the electric eel cells.

"We now understand how the natural electric eel cells work," says Dr David LaVan of NIST. "Now we can think about how we can use those cells to power medical devices."

Natural electric eel cells generate and release electric pulses of more than 500 volts with eight different channels and pumps.

By pumping positively charged potassium and sodium ions out of the cell, the number of negatively charged ions inside the cells rises.

Opening certain channels causes electrons to flood out of the cell, producing enough electricity to stun the eel's victim.