Scientists Develop Wireless Pacemaker That Dissolves In Body (theguardian.com) 17
A wireless pacemaker that can dissolve in the body has been created for patients who need only temporary help to regulate their heartbeat. The Guardian reports: While pacemakers can already be used for temporary periods, experts say there are problems, including that leads placed through the skin can pose an infection risk. The external power supply and control system can become accidentally dislodged, and heart tissue can be damaged when the device is removed. Now researchers say they have developed a battery-free pacemaker that can be implanted directly on to the surface of the heart and absorbed by the body when no longer needed. The device -- which Rogers said would cost about $100 -- is free of leads and can be controlled and programmed from outside the body.
Writing in the journal Nature Biotechnology, Rogers and colleagues report how they made the device -- which is thin, flexible and weighs less than half a gram -- from materials including magnesium, tungsten, silicon and a polymer known as PLGA, all of which are compatible with the body but which undergo chemical reactions that allow them to dissolve and be absorbed over time. The device, which resembles a tiny tennis racket in shape, is powered by wireless technology in which radio frequency power from an external device is sent to a receiver within the pacemaker where it is converted into an electrical current that is used to regulate the heart. Rogers said similar technology was used in applications such as wireless charging of smartphones and electric toothbrushes.
Writing in the journal Nature Biotechnology, Rogers and colleagues report how they made the device -- which is thin, flexible and weighs less than half a gram -- from materials including magnesium, tungsten, silicon and a polymer known as PLGA, all of which are compatible with the body but which undergo chemical reactions that allow them to dissolve and be absorbed over time. The device, which resembles a tiny tennis racket in shape, is powered by wireless technology in which radio frequency power from an external device is sent to a receiver within the pacemaker where it is converted into an electrical current that is used to regulate the heart. Rogers said similar technology was used in applications such as wireless charging of smartphones and electric toothbrushes.
Planned obsolescence (Score:4, Insightful)
Don't forget to upgrade to iPace 12. Your life literally depends on it. ;-)
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No no, thats clearly not why they got the research funding
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Your pacemaker needs to reboot.
Is this a good moment or do you want to schedule it for tonight when you're asleep?
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I am not sure the Jaguar I-Pace [jaguarusa.com] seems a bit expensive and it doesn't have as good of a rage or speed than a Tesla Model Y which you can get for nearly 10k less. The Ford Mustang Mach-e is just as good as the Tesla just different to suit a different set of tastes.
Re: Planned obsolescence (Score:2)
They already have this. It's called a pacemaker's battery life. When my Dad's pacemaker was running low, they replaced it with an entirely new device.
This is just more short term but it also requires one less operation.
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To be fair, it ain't exactly cheap in Europe neither. It's just that national health insurance schemes there make it invisible to the patients, more or less.
Also, going through years of medical school, and then having people's well-being - if not lives - on their hands, and more prosaically simply insuring yourself against medical malpractice, especially in lawsuit-happy 'Murica... I don't know, I think doctors deserve the money they ask for: they have a high risk, high commitment activity with a real added
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I lost you at the end with the disparaging remarks. People go to cheaper medical because thats what they can afford. As far as quality is concerned there are good and bad in both places, unfortunately it is again about the money.
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yup, no doubt, i wrecked a motorcycle when a car pulled out into the road in front of me, had to spend a couple of weeks in intensive care which was over a million dollars, and the helicopter ride they wanted 50 thousand, what a racket the medical industry turned into, neither the hospital or the helicopter got the money they wanted, but they did get paid a little, and when they squeezed me for the cash i suggested they talk to the guy that cut me off and caused the wreck in the first
Re:$100 eh? (Score:5, Informative)
To be fair, it ain't exactly cheap in Europe neither. It's just that national health insurance schemes there make it invisible to the patients, more or less.
Cheap is relative. Healthcare is absolutely cheaper in Europe. This has been studied to death and not only does a single payer system keep costs down but a significant regulatory framework which sets prices stops the predatory healthcare practices which occur in the USA too.
Those studies based on outcomes vs expenditure, they don't assume the expenditure is zero despite that being what is visible to the person seeking treatment.
Of course, you're free to have it done on the cheap in Fuckdakistan: there are plenty of el-cheapo developing countries that specialize in medical tourism. There are plenty of medical tourists ending up with health problems and no recourse too..
Well in terms of Health outcomes I wouldn't pick America land of the high infant mortality as a choice. Nothing drove that home more to me than a friend who moved to America and worked there as a surgeon for 6 years before getting cancer, ... and then quickly emigrated back to Australia saying there's no fucking way she would let herself get treated in the USA. But that's just an anecdote.
Incidentally suing someone doesn't help you when you die of a complication. Your comment on tourisms with health problems apply very much to you going to your own local doctor as well. The difference is after you die your family will be stuck with a larger bill.
Re:Mmmhhh, cooked heart tissue! (Score:4, Informative)
The body is mostly transparent to RF signals, which is why your radio, wifi, etc. don't completely stop working whenever you stand between the transmitter and receiver. And antennas are already extremely efficient at converting the energy they absorb to electricity, which is why a crystal radio set with a few feet of thin wire antenna can drive an earpiece without any additional power supply.
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Define "mostly". Deep tissue signal loss in the 400Mhz medical band is about -7dB. 2.4ISM band is upward of -12dB. Your wifi doesn't stop working because you have plenty of signal margin to spare or are taking advantage multipath propagation. Plus, the difference in performance at -60dBm and -72dBm to the average phone wifi user is not noticeable.
The OPs question depends mostly on how much power this device needs. Hopefully in the micro watt range...
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Plus, the difference in performance at -60dBm and -72dBm to the average phone wifi user is not noticeable.
^This. There is plenty of signal margin and due to constructive and destructive interference the signal is quite speckled, you can easily change 12dBm within just half a wavelength of distance. In fact, when you add up the differences between pretty much any WiFi transmitter in production, it’s not uncommon for them to even transmit +/- 3dBm unit to unit. Imagine if they sold cars this way - “Why yes! Some of these cars are 400 hp and some are 100hp, they are all pretty much the same.”
$100, before regulatory approval (Score:3, Insightful)
The "marginal cost" to manufacture each unit may indeed remain under $100, but there will be a lot of up-front costs such as clinical trials that will need to be recouped.
I'd be surprised if this doesn't wind up costing a few grand for something that lasts days or weeks.