The world’s first wireless, batteryless, fully implantable pacemaker that naturally disappears into the body after use has just been developed. It represents an alternative for patients who require temporary pacing after heart surgery or those awaiting a permanent pacemaker.
- The stimulation device is 250 microns thick, or 0.025 centimeters, and weighs less than half a gram.
- The device works by harvesting energy from a remote external antenna using near field communication protocols.
- It avoids the risks of traditional pacemakers that can cause further damage when removed, such as infection, dislodgement, torn or damaged tissue, bleeding, and blood clots.
The pacemaker is a device that detects possible ventricular arrhythmias in order to correct them. Danish football player Christian Eriksen, who suffered a heart attack in the middle of a European championship match, will be equipped with it. Like the 29-year-old footballer, between 60,000 and 70,000 French people have it implanted each year. American researchers from Northwestern and George Washington universities have developed the very first transient pacemaker. Featured June 28 in the magazine Naturebiotechnology, the stimulation device works wirelessly, without batteries and disappears naturally into the body once it is no longer needed. It is 250 microns thick, or 0.025 centimeters, and weighs less than half a gram.
Reduced risks compared to permanent devices
This new tool represents an alternative for patients who need temporary pacing after cardiac surgery or for those awaiting the insertion of a permanent pacemaker. All transient pacemaker components are biocompatible and naturally absorb into body biofluids for five to seven weeks, without the need for surgery. The device works by harvesting energy from a remote external antenna using near-field communication protocols, the same technology used in smartphones for electronic payments, to send heart stimulation if needed. sees the need.
“Material placed in or near the heart creates risks of infection and other complicationsdetails John A. Rogers, who led the development of the device. Our wireless transient pacemakers overcome the major drawbacks of traditional temporary devices by eliminating the need for percutaneous leads for surgical extraction procedures, providing the opportunity to reduce costs and improve patient care outcomes. This type of unusual device could represent the future of temporary stimulation technology.”
Other applications may follow
Temporary pacemakers already exist, but the equipment is cumbersome and dangerous for patients. To install them, after open-heart surgery, surgeons must sew temporary pacemaker electrodes to the heart muscle. This leads to the patient having wires coming out of the front of the chest to connect to an external pacemaker box which delivers current to control heart rate. This model runs the risk that the probes can become enveloped in scar tissue that can cause further damage when removed, such as infection, dislodgement, torn or damaged tissue, bleeding, and blood clots.
Researchers are already considering other applications for this device. “With further modifications, it may eventually be possible to implant such bioabsorbable pacemakers into a vein in the leg or arm.believes John A. Rogers. In this case, it may also be possible to provide temporary pacing to patients who have suffered a heart attack or patients undergoing catheter-based procedures, such as catheter-based aortic valve replacement..”
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