A blog about what is new (and old) in the world of active implantable medical devices

Category Archives: Implantable Components

Nanostim’s Leadless Pacemaker

Posted on by Posted in BetaBatt, Bradycardia, Cardiac Pacing, EBR Systems, Medtronic, Nanostim, Nuclear Batteries

Nanostim's leadless pacemakerNanostim 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 stealth mode, but some details about the leadless pacemaker have emerged from Nanostim’s patents and patent applications.  An interesting detail is about the possible use of a betavoltaic power source: Continue reading→

BetaBatt’s Modern Betavoltaic Cells to Power Active Implantable Devices

Posted on by Posted in BetaBatt, Nanostim, News, Nuclear Batteries
Porous-silicon diode membrane being developed by BetaBatt for an implantable betavoltaic cell
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 implantable power source under the trade name DEC™ Cell, in which a silicon wafer captures electrons emitted by a radioactive gas such as tritium. The wafer is etched in a three-dimensional surface to capture more electrons.  The battery is sealed in a hermetic package  which  entirely  contains  the  low-energy  particles emitted by tritium, rendering the battery safe for long-term human  implant  from  a radiological-health standpoint.  Tri­tium has a half-life  of 12.3 years so that the technology  is more than adequate to meet the requirements of many implantable devices. Continue reading→

Glucose Fuel-Cell-Powered Implantable Devices

Posted on by Posted in Bradycardia, ELA Medical, Glucose Fuel-Cell, Museum, News, Sorin

Experimental glucose-powered fuel-cell pacemaker (1970s)

 

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 that powered the pacemaker. Continue reading→

American Optical’s Nuclear Pacemaker (1970’s)

Posted on by Posted in American Optical (1965-1975), Bradycardia, Cardiac Pacing, History, Museum, Nuclear Batteries

American Optical Nuclear Pacemaker

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 slug of metallic Plutonium 238 (Pu-238). The radiation produced by the Pu-238 bombarded the walls of its container, producing heat that a thermopile then converted to an electrical current. A thermopile is a stack of thermocouples, which are devices that convert thermal energy directly into electrical energy using Seebeck effect. The thermocouple was made of two kinds of metal (or semiconductors) connected to each other in a closed loop. If the two junctions are at different temperatures, an electric current will flow in the loop. Continue reading→

Arco Medical’s Nuclear-Powered Pacemaker (ca.1974)

Posted on by Posted in Arco Medical (1969-1980), Cardiac Pacing, History, Museum, Nuclear Batteries
Arco pacemaker powered by a plutonium 238 RTG

Image Credit: Arco Medical Products Co. (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 model NU-5F pacemaker. Continue reading→

Medtronic’s Atomic Pacemaker (early 1970’s)

Posted on by Posted in Bradycardia, Cardiac Pacing, History, Medtronic, Museum, Nuclear Batteries

Medtronic's atomic pacemaker powered by an Alcatel plutonium 238 RTG

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 slug of metallic Plutonium 238 (Pu-238). The radiation produced by the Pu-238 bombarded the walls of its container, producing heat that a thermopile then converted to an electrical current. A thermopile is a stack of thermocouples, which are devices that convert thermal energy directly into electrical energy using Seebeck effect. A thermocouple is made of two kinds of metal (or semiconductors) connected to each other in a closed loop. If the two junctions are at different temperatures, an electric current will flow in the loop. Continue reading→

CCC del Uruguay’s Atomic Pacemaker (1972)

Posted on by Posted in Bradycardia, Cardiac Pacing, CCC del Uruguay, CCC Medical, History, Museum, Nuclear Batteries

Promethium Betacell-Powered Atomic Pacemaker Manufactured by CCC in 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 similar to what happens in a photovoltaic cell (a solar cell).

The Betacel 400 had an open-circuit voltage of 4.7V and a short circuit current of 115μA. The maximum power output was 370μW.   CCC’s pacemaker was expected to last for 10 years when powered by this nuclear battery. Continue reading→

CCC Medical – Top OEM to AIMD Start-Ups

Posted on by Posted in Bradycardia, CCC del Uruguay, CCC Medical, CCC Medical, History, Pain, Ultra-Low-Power ICs, Vagus Nerve Stimulation, Wireless Power Transmission
CCC del Uruguay Teros SSI pacemaker model 503CCC is one of the oldest pacemaker manufacturers in the world. It was founded in 1969 by Dr. Orestes Fiandra, who performed the first succesful, human, long-term pacemaker implant in the world.

This was achieved in Uruguay on February 2, 1960 by Dr. Orestes Fiandra and Dr. Roberto Rubio. The pacemaker was manufactured by Dr. Rune Elmqvist of Elema-Schönander in Sweden, and was implanted in Uruguay in a 34-year-old patient with AV block. This unit worked successfully for nine and a half months, until the patient died of sepsis from an unrelated infection. Continue reading→

AIMD Companies Founded by Alfred E. Mann

Posted on by Posted in Advanced Bionics, Alfred E. Mann, Blindness, Hearing Impairment, Implantable Acoustics, MiniMed, Pacesetter, Quallion, Second Sight

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 California Los Angeles.

Alfred Mann has founded 17 companies in his career. The AIMD companies currently within his control are:

  • Second Sight, which is developing a visual prosthesis to restore sight to the blind
  • Quallion, which develops, manufactures and markets advanced batteries for implantable medical devices (as well as for aerospace and military applications)
  • Implantable Acoustics, developing an implantable hearing aid Continue reading→

ImThera Medical’s Aura6000 Implantable System for the Treatment of Sleep Apnea

Posted on by Posted in ImThera Medical, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Rechargeable Batteries, Sleep Apnea
ImThera Aura 6000 implantable device for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea

Image Credit: Imthera

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. The device delivers muscle tone to key tongue muscles, preventing the tongue from collapsing into the upper airway, thus permitting normal breathing during sleep. Continue reading→

ST Microelectronics Developing Implantable SOCs

Posted on by Posted in Engineering & OEM Services, Ultra-Low-Power ICs

Medical Product Manufacturing News announced that ST Microelectronics is developing ultra-low-power Systems On Chip (SOCs) suitable for implantable medical devices.  ST Microelectronics’ 65nm features a Vt of only 0.6V that can be used very near threshold.  The REISC processor consumes barely 10.8pJ/cycle at 0.6V.  This type of technology will certainly enable many new implantable devices that must operate at extremely low powers and squeeze every bit of juice out of their batteries or energy-harvesting means.  Click here for link to article.

Tantalus II System for Treating Metabolic Syndrome

Posted on by Posted in Diabetes, Dr. Shlomo Ben-Haim (Medinvest), MetaCure, My Portfolio, Obesity, Rechargeable Batteries

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 food. The result is an improvement in blood glucose levels, which is often accompanied by weight loss, and reduction of blood pressure, waist circumference and blood lipid level. Continue reading→

Impulse Dynamics’ OPTIMIZER III IPG for Treatment of Heart Failure

Posted on by Posted in Dr. Shlomo Ben-Haim (Medinvest), Heart Failure (CHF), Impulse Dynamics, My Portfolio, Rechargeable Batteries

Optimizer III Implantabe Pulse Generator for the treatment of congestive heart failureImpulse Dynamics’ OPTIMIZER™ III Implantable Pulse Generator delivers Cardiac Contractility Modulation (CCM), non-excitatory electrical signals during the myocardial absolute refractory period in synchrony with locally sensed electrical activity. CCM signals are intended to treat patients with symptomatic heart failure despite appropriate medical treatment. Continue reading→