Ultrasound stickers can regulate heartbeats without invasive surgery
MIT engineers have developed a postage stamp sized patch that uses sound waves to stimulate heart cells, potentially replacing traditional metal implants.
Traditional pacemakers require invasive surgery to place battery powered devices directly against the heart. A new alternative uses a wearable sticker embedded with tiny transducers to send ultrasound pulses through the chest. These acoustic waves trigger specific ion channels in heart cells, causing them to let in calcium and signal the muscle to squeeze.
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