Northwestern researchers have developed the world’s smallest pacemaker, which with its dissolvable nature allows it to be inserted non-invasively into patients’ bodies.

Fit into the tip of a syringe, the pacemaker is designed to be injected into patients and functions as effectively as a full-sized pacemaker, according to a University news release. The pacemaker is paired with a wireless device that attaches to a patient’s chest and uses infrared light technology. When a patient’s heartbeat becomes irregular or drops to a dangerously slow rate, the device shines a light that pulses at a normal heart rate. Those flashes controlled the injected pacemaker.

Led by McCormick Prof. John A. Rogers, the team’s invention is the first dissolvable pacemaker designed for temporary use.

“There’s a crucial need for temporary pacemakers in the context of pediatric heart surgeries, and that’s a use case where size miniaturization is incredibly important,” Rogers said in the news release. “In terms of the device load on the body — the smaller, the better.”

Many other temporary pacemakers’ electrodes are sewn into patients’ heart muscles. The electrodes’ wires connect to an external pacing device, and when the pacemaker is no longer needed, the electrodes are removed. Health complications can arise in this method.

But NU researchers’ solution bypasses this issue. Their pacemaker, made of biocompatible components, dissolves when it is no longer needed.

The pacemaker measures 1.8 millimeters wide, by 3.5 millimeters long, by 1 millimeter thick. Its tiny size is well suited for newborns with congenital heart defects. The device can stimulate fragile newborn hearts with no additional surgery needed for removal.

“By minimizing the size, we dramatically simplify the implantation procedures, we reduce trauma and risk to the patient,” Rogers said.

Email: laurahorne2027@u.northwestern.edu

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