“The transient electronics platform opens an entirely new chapter in medicine and biomedical research,” said GW’s Igor Efimov, who co-led the study with Rogers and Arora. Credit: Northwestern University/George Washington University
Layered schematic of the device, with annotation. These have potential to become infected or dislodged.” The current standard of care involves inserting a wire, which stays in place for three to seven days. “After the patient’s heart is stabilized, we can remove the pacemaker. Rishi Arora, a cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine who co-led the study. “Sometimes patients only need pacemakers temporarily, perhaps after an open heart surgery, heart attack, or drug overdose,” said Dr. This unusual type of device could represent the future of temporary pacing technology.” “Our wireless, transient pacemakers overcome key disadvantages of traditional temporary devices by eliminating the need for percutaneous leads for surgical extraction procedures - thereby offering the potential for reduced costs and improved outcomes in patient care. Rogers, who led the device’s development. “Hardware placed in or near the heart creates risks for infection and other complications,” said Northwestern’s John A. Watch the transient pacemaker slowly dissolve over the course of 35 days and beyond.
ECLIPSE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER JENNY ZHENG SERIES
The paper demonstrates the device’s efficacy across a series of large and small animal models. The study was published on June 28, 2021, in the journal Nature Biotechnology. Not only can leads introduce infections, they also can become enveloped in scar tissue, causing further damage when removed. This eliminates the need for bulky batteries and rigid hardware, including wires (or leads). The device wirelessly harvests energy from an external, remote antenna using near-field communication protocols - the same technology used in smartphones for electronic payments and in RFID tags. All components of the pacemaker are biocompatible and naturally absorb into the body’s biofluids over the course of five to seven weeks, without needing surgical extraction. The thin, flexible, lightweight device could be used in patients who need temporary pacing after cardiac surgery or while waiting for a permanent pacemaker. Researchers at Northwestern and George Washington universities (GW) have developed the first-ever transient pacemaker - a wireless, battery-free, fully implantable pacing device that disappears after it’s no longer needed. Heart surgeon: ‘This device will greatly improve a patient’s post-operative course’.
An illustration of the transient pacemaker mounted on myocardial tissue.