Battery-free pacemaker on the horizon

Having one surgery is plenty, and having some foreign object implanted in your being is really pushing things, but knowing you're going to be under the knife every ten years or so to get a new battery is just absurd. Thankfully, a group of researchers in the UK feel the same way, and are well on their way to developing a battery-free pacemaker. Reportedly, the device would use a microgenerator producing electricity every time the patient moves, effectively eliminating the need for an internal battery. The cost of the £1 million ($1.96 million) project is being shared by the Department of Trade and Industry and private companies, one being Zarlink Semiconductor who has a large role in the device's development. Other teams around the globe are also seeking to create such a unit, with ideas spanning from tiny generators that receive power from heat right onto "biological pacemakers" that would correct heart problems without the need for a mechanical device. While there's no estimate as to when these gizmos will even hit the testing and approval phase, it seems that things are moving along quite well, but we have to stop and wonder how well a pacemaker powered by motion will function when you, well, cease moving.

[Via MedGadget]

[Yaya @ Dec 28th 2006 10:53AM]

This is really awesome. I can see this having great applications in things like cellphones, mp3 players, PDAs, GPSs, (and the few over-achievers that are all of the above). If you could replace all batteries with generators, any gadget that is carried around will effectively have free energy. It would be a Godsend for something like the Wiimote. Oh, and bonus points if they can make the generators the same size and shape of AA batteries (AAA? lets not get ahead of ourselves) , so they can be used in existing electronics.

[Eagle Eye Jones @ Dec 28th 2006 11:54AM]

@Yaya "It would be a Godsend for something like the Wiimote."

Considering how hardcore some ppl are going (wiihaveaproblem.com) the generator might blow out the controller with all that energy. ha ha ha

[Tim T. @ Dec 28th 2006 11:09AM]

But what about all those stagnant senior citizens out there?

[Jonny @ Dec 28th 2006 11:48AM]

Yeah this is a great idea, but we already have kineticly powered batteries. Flashlights that are shaken to produce light, and wrst watches that are wound just by wearing them. This is an interesting place to put them because seriously, what happens if the patient stops moving...what motion does this batter need for it to work?

[Hal @ Dec 28th 2006 12:07PM]

Good idea for people in their 50's or 60's since they are still very active, but how about for someone in his 80's. Most old people just sit in a couch and watch television; at least those in retirement homes. They should focus on devices that utilize biochemical reactions.

[tiuk @ Dec 28th 2006 12:26PM]

I don't know exactly what a pacemaker does, so maybe what I'm about to say is stupid, but it'd be cool if it could be powered by the movement of the actual beating of the heart.

[NHAnimator @ Dec 28th 2006 12:33PM]

Didn't the original pacemaker batteries created by Sony give everyone heartburn? Sorry. I like Sony. I just couldn't resist one more hit.

Seriously, though. This sounds like an outstanding concept.

[Brian Erst @ Dec 28th 2006 12:38PM]

After you "cease moving", these various heart implants can have some unpleasant surprises for your friends and families:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0612270306dec27,1,872594.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

Basically, when you die, the pacemaker or defibrillator implants think of it as just another cardiac event and start shocking the heart trying to get it working again. Dead patients start jumping over and over again, and the electrical jolt can actually shock relatives who may have been holding the dying patient.

Gotta love that technology - it refuses to give up the ghost!

[NHAnimator @ Dec 28th 2006 12:49PM]

Interesting problem. Overall, it would seem as though the implant would do more good than bad (like seat belts). But these exceptions to the rule do seem to be rather troublesome.

There should be multiple settings: assist the heart only, assist and defib, etc. You should be able to say, "My relative is near to passing. Please turn off the defib option." Or at a minimum, be sure to warn family members of what to expect should the heart give out. Much like 'death rattle', sometimes unexpected things happen when a person is passing.

[cjrenaud @ Dec 28th 2006 10:43PM]

Is it wrong that I find that visual hilarious?

[demotivator @ Dec 28th 2006 4:50PM]

I work at one of the three companies that make these devices (pacemakers, etc.). The application of this technology would only be useful for pacemakers which require much less energy than an defibrillator or cardiac resynchronization defibrillator. Those units need some kick, and thus use batteries and capacitors. Even then, since some patients have had their AV node ablated--their hearts then can not pace itself--I would not want to leave it to chance.

As for the dead bodies getting shocked, it is unfortunate, but at least the unit was doing what was required (the family would be screaming bloody murder if the person died and the defib did not fire). I am not sure how to make our customer reps (who do the set-ups of the devices when implanted) ask "do yo want an 'easy-off' switch?" Interesting issue.

[p. counsell @ Sep 10th 2007 2:49PM]

Well I agree with all this. But why have [pacemakers got so small. I have an bi phase synchronising pacemaker and the battery will run out in approximately 5 years.My neighbour had an old pacemaker that ran for 15 years. Why dont you make the battery twice as big as it would only increase the volume by a third? I object to being sliced open every 5 years. I would not mind if it were every 10 years.

[Zeke @ Dec 28th 2006 5:01PM]

How about a surgically implanted pull string, OLPC-style?
XD

[Ra D O Hax @ Dec 29th 2006 2:34AM]

They've made pacemakers before which don't require battery changes. Powered by plutonium-238 (note: it's an alpha emitter. Well sealed. Tested even against gunshots. No radiation dose to patient). Those actually were widely considered among the best as far as pacemaker power goes. Implant and never have to worry about it. Discontinued due to expense mostly.

I wonder if this would be problematic if the patient didn't move for a while, like was bedridden. Kenetic watches have this problem. Perhaps you could deliver power by means of an inductor?

[greggo @ Dec 30th 2006 8:38AM]

id rather go into surgery every ten years than have to take 7 shots a day to keep my diabetic ass alive

[Waldo T. Boyd @ Jan 1st 2007 2:14PM]

Anyone who still thinks us old geezers become couch potatoes at 88+ take note and catch up with reality! But activity-driven energy devices are, even-so, losers out of the starting gate. Instead, the chap who suggested harnessing heart-muscle contractions is on a logical possible course, and I'd suggest tapping into the glucose (sugar) to energy chemistry for the required power. In any case, the nearer to the body's natural functions the researchers come, the better their chance of success. We are already, at birth, the finest and best possible android mechanism designed to inhabit this carbon-oxygen physical universe - but Natural Selection is no longer acceptable as the bet course for change towards bettering our adaptability. Takes too long for we impatient mortals. My suggestion for investigation: clone a perkinje cell or three, plus a well-tried heart muscle clone of the individual who will receive the pacemaker, and when the original cardiac function plus the cloned pacemaker begin to work together, they will synchronize in beat. Father Jarvik will then become the grandfather of a true android heart.