Powering a pacemaker with a patient's heartbeat
A small, flexible device can power a pacemaker with energy from heartbeats. Credit: American Chemical Society
A conventional pacemaker is implanted just under the skin near the collarbone. Its battery and circuitry generate electrical signals that are delivered to the heart via implanted electrodes.
Because surgery to replace the battery can lead to complications, including infection and bleeding, various researchers have tried to build pacemakers that use the natural energy of heartbeats as an alternative energy source.
However, these experimental devices aren't powerful enough because of their rigid structure, difficulties with miniaturization and other drawbacks, so Hao Zhang, Bin Yang and colleagues searched for ways to improve the technology.
First, they designed a small, flexible plastic frame. Next they bonded the frame to piezoelectric layers, which generate energy when bent.
They implanted the device in pigs and showed that a beating heart could in fact alter the frame's shape, generating enough power to match the performance of a battery-powered pacemaker. The study is a step toward making a self-powered cardiac pacemaker, the researchers say.
###
The authors acknowledge funding from the 863 Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai.
The paper's abstract will be available on Feb. 20 at 8 a.m. Eastern time here: http://pubs.
The American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.
Media Contact
Alle Nachrichten aus der Kategorie: Medical Engineering
The development of medical equipment, products and technical procedures is characterized by high research and development costs in a variety of fields related to the study of human medicine.
innovations-report provides informative and stimulating reports and articles on topics ranging from imaging processes, cell and tissue techniques, optical techniques, implants, orthopedic aids, clinical and medical office equipment, dialysis systems and x-ray/radiation monitoring devices to endoscopy, ultrasound, surgical techniques, and dental materials.
Neueste Beiträge
A precise mixture of light and sound
Nanoscale sound waves vibrate artificial atom A German-polish research team from Augsburg, Münster, Munich and Wrocław successfully mixed nanoscale sound waves and light quanta. In their study published in Optica…
Vegetable proteins replace petroleum-based raw materials
Just like cellulose, lignin and fats, proteins are renewable raw materials. Their potential for the chemical industry remains largely untapped. Research teams at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and…
An autonomous high-speed transporter for tomorrow’s logistics
The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML is developing a new generation of automated guided vehicles. “LoadRunners” use artificial intelligence and communicate via 5G to organize themselves as…