Some years ago, 2012 to be precise, Michigan University scientists created a device that harnessed energy from heartbeats. The media were alive with the possibility of heartbeats powering pacemakers at the time. However researchers needed to do more work before putting patients’ lives at unnecessary risk.
But Could Heartbeats Powering Pacemakers Strain a Weak Heart?
David Zax posed that question in Technology Review in 2012. “At first blush,” he said “this seems like a terrible idea. If someone has a heart problem, is the heart the very thing you want fueling the device?”
However he did concede the potential for eliminating the need for a battery-replacing operation every five years or so. Moreover many patients are children born with heart defects needing the help of pacemakers. If they were to live to 100 as some futurists suggest, then they might need 20 such ops. Therefore there would be distinct humanitarian benefits to heartbeats powering pacemakers instead of batteries.
Watch an Animated Video of What Pacemakers Do
Heart Strain is Unlikely: The Heart Would Have Spare Capacity
At the time, the BBC reported a beating heart could produce 10 times the energy a pacemaker needs. They added the researchers at the University of Michigan were trying to use the movement of the heart as a source of electricity. This could imitate piezoelectric materials generating an electric charge as their shape changes.
On January 8, 2019 the Wiley Online Library published an update on the possibility of heartbeats powering pacemakers instead of battery implants. This report confirmed scientists had developed “a compact, modular and compliant thin film energy harvester.” When placed on a cardiac pacemaker power lead it converts mechanical motion to electrical power, they said.
Breaking news on February 7, 2019 in Technology Review confirmed “The first round of animal studies has just been completed. The team hopes the pacemakers could be available for humans within the next five years.” Wow, we are impressed!
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Preview Image: St Jude Medical Pacemaker
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