New wireless pacemaker does not cause pain

U.S. engineers have developed a new kind of wireless pacemaker that envelops the heart.

Current pacemakers require one or two points of contact with the heart. These sensors, when a problem is detected, send an electrical shock to restore normal heart function, but this causes the person to feel pain.

A pacemaker proposed by scientists at the University of Arizona directs the signals more precisely, bypassing the pain receptors and reducing the patient's discomfort. This is achieved through a petal-like mesh construction, which envelops the heart and does not require contacts to the organ. The device has a total of four petals, which are made of a thin, flexible film. When the device detects a heart malfunction, all of the petals restore heart function by contracting. The findings are published in the journal Science Advances.

According to the scientists, one advantage of using their pacemaker is that it can be implanted during a minimally invasive procedure.