Power Sources for Implantable Cardiac Pacemakers

¹ Director of Surgery, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark and Clinical Professor of Surgery, College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey at Newark

Today it is generally agreed that the most important advance to be made in pacemaker design is an improved battery. Although much can still be done to prolong the longevity of existing chemical cells, it is not anticipated that these will ever last as long as a good nuclear fuel source. The most promising of all the potential power sources that have been suggested is the radioisotope nuclear powered pacemaker. Several types of nuclear batteries have been under study throughout the world, some of which give promise of long-term clinical usefulness. Selected groups of patients will be treated within the near future, but mass production of the pacemaker will not come about for a few more years.