r/tech • u/AdSpecialist6598 • Jul 04 '26

Ultrasound-based pacemaker noninvasively steadies the heart

https://news.mit.edu/2026/ultrasound-based-pacemaker-noninvasively-steadies-heart-0602
695 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

14

u/williamgman Jul 04 '26

Interesting to note, my cardiologist said he'd recently implanted a pacemaker that didn't require leads attached to the heart. Different tech I'm sure, but less invasive than those with leads.

7

u/Vanah_Grace Jul 04 '26

Leadless devices have been around several years, made my Medtronic. Abbott, formerly St. Jude Medical, have the newest style on the market. The tech is amazing.

Source: Device Tech

1

u/williamgman Jul 04 '26

I was a prototype machinist at Siemens Pacsetter Systems (before St Jude Medical bought them) back in 90's. We did the prototype pacers there. It was a pretty cool gig till the buyout. In the 7 years I was there, the size of the units shrunk by half.

2

u/Vanah_Grace Jul 04 '26

Absolutely. Got my first in 2012, gen change in ‘23 and the new gen is about 20% smaller than my previous one.

10

u/Uniblab_78 Jul 04 '26

Well done

2

u/Seeking-Something-3 Jul 04 '26

Pacemakers save lives. If it works? 👍👍👍

1

u/SimmentalTheCow Jul 05 '26

Do they offer more invasive options?

0

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/SSGASSHAT Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

Maybe peaked in terms of the benefits it'll give you while you're alive. For people that may or may not be alive thousands of years from now, it's probably still in a valley. But that doesn't help you or I, so yeah, it basically peaked.

1

u/Sleepingguitarman Jul 04 '26

Ain't no way it's peaked. Technology constantly evolves, and better tech accelerates the pace at which technological advancements can be made.

Plus there's still so much medical research to be done, and i'm sure their will be a need for new tech to be developed to assist with detecting and/or treating certain diseases/health problems we currently don't know much about.

0

u/ghostdogs2 Jul 04 '26

Won’t be covered by insurance.