Wristwatch-inspired batteryless cardiac pacemaker unveiled

A team from the University of Bern have showcased a potentially groundbreaking new batteryless cardiac pacemaker inspired by the design of automatic wristwatches.

All unnecessary parts have been removed from the new design to reduce the weight and size of the device, which is sutured directly on to the myocardium. The heart's own motion is used to spin an electrical micro-generator that powers the device.

The system, which has been successfully tested in pigs, solves a number of issues with current pacemaker devices, such as the need for repeat surgery to replace devices that have run out of energy.

Adrian Zurbuchen, a PhD candidate from the cardiovascular engineering group at the University of Bern, said: "The next step in our prototype is to integrate both the electronic circuit for energy storage and the custom-made pacemaker directly into the harvesting device. This will eliminate the need for leads."

Pacemaker leads are prone to fracture and can pose an imminent threat to the patient, meaning their removal will be another key benefit of the device.

Earlier this year, a team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology demonstrated a similar device operated semi-permanently by a flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator, allowing electrical energy to be converted from physical movements.