Miniature electronic pacemaker tested in rabbits
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.027944
New Scientist : Although implantable medical devices are being successfully miniaturized, powering them has posed a problem. Batteries are not only bulky but need to be replaced periodically. Now Ada Poon of Stanford University and colleagues have developed a wireless powering method. They use an external metal plate, with power from a cellphone battery, to transmit 2000 microwatts of electricity to a tiny pacemaker implanted inside the subject. To ensure that the energy transmission is strong enough, the researchers designed the plate to direct the high-frequency beam of radiation directly at the implant. Although the device has been tested only on rabbits so far, the researchers are working to adapt it for human use, possibly by replacing the metal plate with a skin patch.
