<p>Your own beating heart may generate enough electricity to power a heart-regulating pacemaker, ending the need for expensive surgeries to replace expiring batteries, according to an early study of an experimental energy-converting device.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Researchers at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor tested an energy-harvesting device that runs on piezoelectricity - the electrical charge generated from motion, according to the study which was released at the annual American Heart Association scientific conference on Sunday.<br /><br />The approach is a promising technological solution for pacemakers, because they require only small amounts of power to operate, said M. Amin Karami, the study's lead author and a research fellow at the university.<br /><br />The implanted devices, which send electrical impulses into the heart to help maintain a normal heartbeat, have to be replaced every five to seven years when their batteries run out.<br /><br />Researchers measured heartbeat-induced vibrations in the chest. They then used a "shaker" to reproduce the vibrations in the laboratory and connected it to a prototype cardiac energy harvester they developed.<br /><br />Measurements of the prototype's performance, based on a wide range of simulated <br />heartbeats, showed the energy harvester generated more than 10 times the power required by modern pacemakers.<br /><br />The device is about half the size of batteries now used in pacemakers and includes a self-powering back-up capacitor, Karami said. Researchers hope to integrate their technology into commercial pacemakers.<br /><br />"What we have proven is that under optimal conditions, this concept is working," Karami said, adding that the next step is to integrate the device into a pacemaker.<br /><br />The researcher, who presented the study here at a scientific meeting of the American Heart Association, said the technology might one day also power other implantable cardiac devices, such as defibrillators.<br /><br />The study was funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.<br /><br />About 700,000 people worldwide who have heart rhythm disturbances get a pacemaker or defibrillator each year.<br /><br />In the United States, pacemakers sell for about $5,000, which does not include the cost of surgery, a hospital stay and additional care.<br /></p>
<p>Your own beating heart may generate enough electricity to power a heart-regulating pacemaker, ending the need for expensive surgeries to replace expiring batteries, according to an early study of an experimental energy-converting device.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Researchers at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor tested an energy-harvesting device that runs on piezoelectricity - the electrical charge generated from motion, according to the study which was released at the annual American Heart Association scientific conference on Sunday.<br /><br />The approach is a promising technological solution for pacemakers, because they require only small amounts of power to operate, said M. Amin Karami, the study's lead author and a research fellow at the university.<br /><br />The implanted devices, which send electrical impulses into the heart to help maintain a normal heartbeat, have to be replaced every five to seven years when their batteries run out.<br /><br />Researchers measured heartbeat-induced vibrations in the chest. They then used a "shaker" to reproduce the vibrations in the laboratory and connected it to a prototype cardiac energy harvester they developed.<br /><br />Measurements of the prototype's performance, based on a wide range of simulated <br />heartbeats, showed the energy harvester generated more than 10 times the power required by modern pacemakers.<br /><br />The device is about half the size of batteries now used in pacemakers and includes a self-powering back-up capacitor, Karami said. Researchers hope to integrate their technology into commercial pacemakers.<br /><br />"What we have proven is that under optimal conditions, this concept is working," Karami said, adding that the next step is to integrate the device into a pacemaker.<br /><br />The researcher, who presented the study here at a scientific meeting of the American Heart Association, said the technology might one day also power other implantable cardiac devices, such as defibrillators.<br /><br />The study was funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.<br /><br />About 700,000 people worldwide who have heart rhythm disturbances get a pacemaker or defibrillator each year.<br /><br />In the United States, pacemakers sell for about $5,000, which does not include the cost of surgery, a hospital stay and additional care.<br /></p>