Injectable Pacemakers Reduce Surgeries

Dec-22-13 The recent development of tiny pacemakers that can be inserted through patient’s veins could soon eliminate the need for surgery.

Medtronic’s tiny pacemaker, called the smallest the world, is only 24 mm long and 0.75 cubic centimeters in volume, which is about 1/10 the size of a standard pacemaker. A second device, created by the startup Nanostim, is just a bit larger.

The wireless pacemaker can be implanted in the heart by making a small incision in the thigh and injecting it into the blood vessel. Doctors can then steer it to the heart using flexible catheters. The pacemakers’ batteries have a lifespan of eight to ten years, and rather than using long electrodes that wind into the heart, these tiny devices are contained within the heart. The injectable pacemakers could be particularly useful in elderly patients and those too frail to risk surgery.

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