Scientists have developed the tiniest pacemaker ever made a dissolvable device smaller than a grain of rice that can be implanted using a simple injection. Traditional temporary pacemakers often require risky surgeries to place and remove them, which can lead to serious complications, including infections and internal bleeding. To eliminate these dangers, researchers miniaturized their earlier 2021 dissolvable pacemaker into a new version that weighs just 13.8 milligrams and measures only 1.8 by 3.5 millimeters. Designed especially for newborns recovering from congenital heart defect surgeries, this biodegradable pacemaker generates its own electrical current when exposed to body fluids, removing the need for external wires or batteries. It works together with a soft chest patch that detects irregular heartbeats and sends pulses of near-infrared light through the skin to wirelessly control the device. Tested in animals and donor human hearts, the pacemaker proved as effective as standard devices and could even be deployed in multiples for more advanced heart stimulation. Beyond heart care, these tiny implants may eventually help in areas like nerve repair, bone healing, wound treatment, and pain management. This innovation could transform temporary medical implants by making them safer, smaller, and fully dissolvable.
Read more-https://spectrum.ieee.org/pacemaker