Boston Scientific has received CE Mark approval for increased longevity projections for the INCEPTA™, ENERGEN™, PUNCTUA™, COGNIS® and TELIGEN® implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds). The longevity projections are based on data submitted to the European authorities and vary for each device dependent on the model type and settings. Projected device
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Micro Systems Technologies Offers Active Implantable Medical Device Development/Manufacturing Services
Micro Systems Technologies (MST) is the vertically-integrated supplier of microelectronics and implantable-grade components to Biotronik. It now offers its development and manufacturing services to others. Through its companies, MST offers high-reliability microelectronic modules for implantable medical devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators, neurostimulators, and cochlear implants. MST can provide integrated solutions encompassing everything from conceptual design through high-volume
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Biophan’s Implantable Biothermal Power Source
Today I was going through some papers and found a 2005 brochure for Biophan’s implantable biothermal source - a 3 mm-thick power source for implantable devices capable of generating electricity from body heat. This power source was being developed by Biophan in collaboration with the NASA Ames Research Center for Nanotechnology. The device is covered by U.S. Patent
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Original Datasheet for Arco’s Nuclear Pacemakers (ca. 1974)
Some time ago, my friend and colleague Paul Spehr gave me a copy of Arco Medical’s product catalog. I scanned the original datasheets for Arco Medical’s nuclear fixed-rate and demand pacemakers models NU-5 and NU-6 and posted them here in pdf format: Arco_Nuclear_Datasheets Click here for a color picture and more information on Arco Medical’s nuclear pacemakers.
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Why Do So Many Novel Implantables Use a “Boxy” Enclosure?
Active implantable medical devices are typically enclosed in a hermetically-sealed titanium housing which provides protection of the circuitry and other components. Commonly, Grade 1 titanium is formed into the enclosure using stamping. The pretty, rounded shapes of modern pacemakers and ICDs are achieved by having two enclosure halves shallowly stamped from sheet stock material,
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Nanostim’s Leadless Pacemaker
Nanostim is an early-stage AIMD company in Milpitas, CA that is developing a pacemaker that can be implanted inside the heart through a catheter. The tiny device is attached directly to the heart, eliminating the need for leads. In May 2011 Nanostim announced that St. Jude Medical had made a substantial investment in the company. The company is operating in
BetaBatt’s Modern Betavoltaic Cells to Power Active Implantable Devices
Image Credit: University of Rochester Nuclear energy cells that converted the impact of the β-particles on a p-n junction were developed in the 1970s. One example was CCC’s atomic pacemaker, which was powered by a promethium-147 McDonell-Douglas Betacel 400. Lately, BetaBatt Inc. of Houston, TX licensed beta-voltaic technology developed at the University of Rochester to develop an
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Glucose Fuel-Cell-Powered Implantable Devices
My friend, Dr. Alain Ripart - the Chief Scientific Officer at Ela Medical (now part of Sorin) showed me this interesting contraption from his personal collection. It is an experimental glucose-powered pacemaker developed in the 1970s. It generated electricity by acquiring its fuel (glucose) directly from a living body to generate enough current to charge two NiCd cells
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American Optical’s Nuclear Pacemaker (1970′s)
Barouh Berkovits at American Optical Co of Boston, MA designed the first “Demand Pacemaker” – what we now know as a VVI pacemaker. As other companies in the 1970s, American Optical developed a nuclear-battery-powered version of their pacemaker. American Optical used a 3Ci Pu-238 Radioisotope Thermal Generator (RTG) produced by Fred Hittman’s Hittman Nuclear Development Corp. (Model NB-200). It consisted of a tiny 8 Ci
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Arco Medical’s Nuclear-Powered Pacemaker (ca.1974)
An isotopic thermoelectric generator was developed in the US by Numec Corporation under a contract from the US Atomic Energy Commission and sold for $3,200 (back in 1974). The thermopile consisted of doped bismuth telluride pairs that were placed in a parallel/series arrangement to generate some 300 μW of power to run this Arco Medical
Medtronic’s Atomic Pacemaker (early 1970′s)
In the late 1960s Medtronic – today the largest manufacturer of implantable medical devices in the world – teamed up with Alcatel, a French company, to design a nuclear-powered pacemaker. The first human implant of the device took place in Paris in 1970. The nuclear battery in the Medtronic device used a tiny 2.5 Ci
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CCC del Uruguay’s Atomic Pacemaker (1972)
This nuclear pacemaker was manufactured ca. 1972 by Dr. Orestes Fiandra’s CCC del Uruguay. It was powered by a McDonell-Douglas Betacel 400 which had promethium-147 sandwiched between semiconductor wafers. As the radioactive promethium isotope decays, it emits β-particles (electrons). The impact of the β-particles on a p-n junction causes a forward bias in the semiconductor
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AIMD Companies Founded by Alfred E. Mann
Alfred E. Mann holds B.A. and M.S. degrees in physics from the University of California, Los Angeles and honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Southern California, The Johns Hopkins University, Western University and the Technion Institute (Israel), as well as, Research Professor, University of Southern California, and Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Bioengineering, University of
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ImThera Medical’s Aura6000 Implantable System for the Treatment of Sleep Apnea
The aura6000 is based on ImThera’s Targeted Hypoglossal Neurostimulation (THN) Sleep Therapy™ delivering neurostimulation to the tongue during sleep. The system is comprised of a surgically‐placed multi‐contact electrode specifically designed for the Hypoglossal nerve, and a lead that connects the electrode to a programmable implantable pulse generator (IPG) that is placed in the anterior chest wall.
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Tantalus II System for Treating Metabolic Syndrome
MetaCure’s TANTALUS II device is an advanced implantable electrical stimulator used to apply gastric stimulation. It works by enhancing the activity of gastric muscles only when the patient eats, which modifies hormone secretion, favorably affecting glucose and fat metabolism. At the same time, the stimulation causes the patient to feel satiated sooner and consume less
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