According to a new study, a cardiac stimulator has developed a cardiac stimulator which it can integrate inside the tip of a syringe and be injected with non-invasively in the body, published in nature.
Although it can work with hearts of all sizes, the cardiac stimulator is particularly well suited to the tiny and fragile heart of newborns with congenital cardiac malformations.
A cardiac stimulator is an implantable device that helps maintain a uniform heart rate, either because the natural heart stimulator of the heart provides an inadequate or irregular heart rate, either because there is a block in the electrical conduction system of the heart.
Smaller than a single grain of rice, the cardiac stimulator is associated with a small wireless, wireless and soft wire device, which rises on a patient’s chest to control stimulation. When the portable device detects an irregular heart rate, it automatically shines to activate the cardiac stimulator.
These short light impulses, which penetrate through the patient’s skin, maternal and muscles, control the pace.
Designed for patients who only need temporary stimulation, the heart stimulator dissolves simply after it is no longer necessary. All the components of the cardiac stimulator are biocompatible, they therefore dissolve naturally in body biofluides, bypassing the need for surgical extraction.
The document demonstrates the efficiency of the device through a series of large and small models as well as the human hearts of deceased organ donors.
“We have developed what is, to our knowledge, the smallest cardiac stimulator in the world,” said John A. Rogers, PHD, Professor of Neurological Surgery, Dermatology, and McCormick School of Engineering, which led the development of the device.
“There is a crucial need for temporary stimulators stimulators in the context of pediatric cardiac surgeries, and this is a user -miniaturization case is incredibly important. In terms of device load on the body, the better, the better. ”
“Our major motivation was children”, said Igor Efimov, PHD, professor of medicine in the cardiology division and at the McCormick School of Engineering, which co-directed the study.
“About 1% of children are born with congenital cardiac malformations, whether they live in a country with low resources or high resources. Remove it. »»
This work is based on a previous collaboration between Rogers and Efimov, in which they developed the first dissolved device for temporary stimulation. Many patients need temporary cardiac stimulators after heart surgery – either while waiting for a permanent heart stimulator, or to help restore a normal heart rate during recovery.
For the current norm of care, surgeons have cut electrodes on the heart muscle during surgery. The threads of the electrodes come out of the front of a patient’s chest, where they connect to an external stimulation box which offers a current to control the rhythm of the heart.
When the temporary cardiac stimulator is no longer necessary, doctors remove electrodes from the cardiac stimulator. Potential complications include infection, dislodge, torn or damaged tissues, bleeding and blood clots.
“It is in fact that Neil Armstrong is dead,” said Efimov. He had a temporary cardiac stimulator after surgery. When the wires were removed, he experienced internal bleeding. »»
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In response to this clinical need, Rogers, Efimov, and their teams developed their first dissolved cardiac stimulator, which was introduced into nature biotechnology in 2021. The thin, flexible and light device eliminated the need for oily batteries and rigid equipment, including wires.
To help further reduce the size of the device, researchers have also reinvented its power source. Instead of using a near field communication to provide power, the new tiny cardiac stimulator works through the action of a galvanic cell, a simple battery type that transforms chemical energy into electrical energy. More specifically, the cardiac stimulator uses two different metals as electrodes to provide electrical impulses at the heart. In contact with the surrounding biofluides, the electrodes form a battery. The resulting chemical reactions cause the flow of electric current to stimulate the heart.
“When the cardiac stimulator is implanted in the body, the surrounding biofluides act as the driver’s electrolyte which electrically joins these two metal pads to form the battery,” said Rogers. “A very small switch activated by the light on the opposite side of the battery allows us to remove the device from its” OFF “state to a” activated “state during the delivery of the light that crosses the patient’s body from the patch mounted on the skin.”
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The team used an infrared light wavelength which penetrates deeply and safely in the body. If the patient’s heart rate falls below a certain rate, the portable device detects the event and automatically activates an emitting light diode. The light then flashes on and off at a speed that corresponds to the normal heart rate.
“Infrared light penetrates very well through the body,” said Efimov. “If you put a flashlight against your palm, you will see the light shine on the other side of your hand. It turns out that our bodies are large drivers of light.”
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Even if the cardiac stimulator is so tiny – measuring only 1.8 millimeters wide, 3.5 millimeters in length and 1 millimeter thick – it still offers as much stimulation as a full -size heart stimulator.
“The heart needs a tiny amount of electrical stimulation,” said Rogers. “By minimizing the size, we considerably simplify the implantation procedures, we reduce trauma and the risk for the patient, and, with the dissolved nature of the device, we eliminate any need for secondary surgical extraction procedures.”
Look at the device and the story below from Northwestern University Press…
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