In a recent discovery, scientists have invented a new-age pacemaker which is the size of a rice grain. The device was designed in the lab of John Rogers at Northwestern University. This could be a huge advancement in medical science, as it will dissolve after completing its task, unlike the ones in use now. These temporary pacemakers will be prove fruitful in paediatric surgeries.  

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Talking about the invention, John Rogers said, “We've been working on this technology for a long time, and the clinical use cases that we're exploring now, this temporary pacemaker being a good example of that, have been brought to us by the clinical community. So, it's much more of a clinical pull than it is a technology push, and that's kind of where we like to operate.”

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The research and the findings have been published in the Nature journal. In a podcast by the university, Rogers shared, "When a patient undergoes heart surgery, there’s often a need to temporarily pace the heart to ensure it maintains a safe rhythm during recovery. Traditional temporary pacemakers use bulky wires and external devices, which can be cumbersome and uncomfortable. More concerning is the risk of complications when the pacemaker leads need to be removed, particularly if scar tissue has formed, potentially causing internal bleeding and serious harm."

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He further explains how this bioresorbable pacemaker aims to do away with the risks that the currently in-use device attaches to it. The device is designed in a way that it will ultimately dissolve in the patient's body once the set task is complete. With this, the painful extraction process can be avoided, further reducing the risk of complications, which include tearing healthy cardiac tissue.

Rogers estimates that the device may be used in clinical trials in five years.