Ultra-thin wireless pacemaker is powered by light
Researchers at the University of Chicago has developed a lightweight wireless temporary pacemaker that can be powered by light.
The wireless pacemaker uses a one micron thick membrane that can be inserted with minimally invasive surgery and contain no moving parts. An optical fibre delivers light in different patterns to provide electrical impulses to heart muscles or areas of the brain.
TO achieve this, the team set out to create a photovoltaic material that would only activate exactly where the light struck, rather than a broad area photovoltaic cell.
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This ‘tunable spatiotemporal photostimulation’ design uses four leadless silicon-based monolithic photoelectrochemical devices. These have two layers of p-type silicon that responds to light by creating electrical charge. The nanoporous top layer has an array of tiny holes which boost the electrical performance and concentrate electricity without allowing it to spread.
The result is a miniscule, flexible membrane 1 micron thick which can be inserted into the body via a custom endoscopic delivery device along with an optical fibre. The fibre lights up in a precise pattern, which the membrane picks up and turns into electrical impulses.
The membrane is a few centimeters square and weighs less than one fiftieth of a gram, significantly less than current state-of-the-art pacemakers, which weigh at least five grams.
“In a solar cell, you want to collect as much sunlight as possible and move that energy along the cell no matter what part of the panel is struck,” said Pengju Li, a graduate student at the University of Chicago and first author on a paper in Nature. “But for this application, you want to be able to shine a light at a very localized area and activate only that one area. The more lightweight a device is, the more comfortable it typically is for patients.”
“The early experiments have been very successful, and we’re really hopeful about the future for this translational technology,” he said.
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This version of the device is meant for temporary use. Instead of another invasive surgery to remove the pacemaker, it simply dissolves over time into a nontoxic silicic acid. However, the researchers said that the devices could be engineered to last to different desired lifespans, depending on how long the heart stimulation is desired.
“This advancement is a game-changer in cardiac resynchronization therapy,” said Narutoshi Hibino, professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine and co-corresponding author on the study. “We’re at the cusp of a new frontier where bioelectronics can seamlessly integrate with the body’s natural functions.”
Though the first trials were conducted with heart tissue, the team said the approach could be used for neuromodulation as well—stimulating nerves in movement disorders like Parkinson’s, for example, or to treat chronic pain or other disorders.
For example, a common heart therapy is known as cardiac resynchronization therapy, where different parts of the heart are brought back into sync with precisely timed charges. In current therapies, this uses a number of wires which can have complications with infection.
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