Reacción a "Pacemaker smaller than a grain of rice developed"

More than 40,000 pacemakers are implanted every year in Spain. These devices are used so that the heartbeat does not stop in people who have alterations in the electrical installation of their heart.

They have become progressively smaller in size and there are even pacemakers today that do not need wires and are implanted directly into the heart. But they all carry risks and still need to be replaced when their battery expires.

This work presents an exceptional prototype. First, because it is a miniature, which can be transported using catheters, until it is implanted in the walls of the heart. Secondly, because the way in which the electrical impulses are generated is absolutely original. This opens up the possibility of being able to implant several devices that stimulate the heart simultaneously, increasing the efficiency of the contraction.

In short, this prototype is spectacular, but let no one forget that it is an experimental prototype. The idea is brilliant, but it will take years for this technology to be implemented in humans with sufficient guarantees. The prototype presented here only allows for transient stimulation, which could be useful for patients who require pacemakers only for a very short time. This is not the norm, because the norm is that people who need a pacemaker need it for life. However, that does not detract from the importance of these kinds of developments, which mark how fascinating medicine is going to be in the very near future.