A pacemaker smaller than a grain of rice
A newly developed, tiny pacemaker for babies is chemically constructed in such a way that it is completely degraded.
(Image: Daniel AJ Sokolov)
Newborns with heart problems often require an operation and then a pacemaker, although this is usually only temporary. However, implanting and later removing a pacemaker is stressful and risky. A tiny, self-destructing device is supposed to help: probably the smallest pacemaker in the world.
It was invented by a group of researchers led by physical chemist John Rogers and cardiologist Igor Efimov at Northwestern University in Illinois: "It's a little smaller than a grain of rice," says Rogers, "It's so small that you can put it in a syringe." The pacemaker can therefore not only be delivered to the heart via an arterial catheter, but can also be injected under the skin.
The trick is the division of functions: That measurement and control module, which monitors the heartbeat and then decides when the pacemaker intervenes, is pecked onto the patient's chest. The connection to the pacemaker inside the body is established by light signals that penetrate the skin, muscles and bones. Only when the device receives these light signals does it become active.
1 in 100 babies
"About one percent of children are born with heart defects," reports Efimov, "The good news is that these children only need a pacemaker temporarily after an operation. After about seven days or so, most patients' hearts repair themselves. But those seven days are crucial." The new device has so far been tested on animal models and human donor hearts.
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In a few years' time, it should be possible to use the flexible, tiny devices to keep the hearts of tiny people going. As the device dissolves after some time and the substances are excreted naturally, surgery to remove the pacemaker should no longer be necessary. This approach could also be suitable for other areas of electromedicine. The researchers are considering wound healing, pain management and the stimulation of bone and nerve growth.
The report "Millimetre-scale bioresorbable optoelectronic systems for electrotherapy" has been published in the journal Nature.
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