Soon, battery-free pacemakers powered by your heart.

Scientists are developing next-generation battery-free 

implantable pacemakers that may be powered by an unlikely 

source — the heart itself.

The advancement is based upon a piezoelectric system that 

converts vibrational energy — created inside the chest by 

each heartbeat — into electricity to power the pacemaker. 

“Essentially, we’re creating technology that will allow 

pacemakers to be powered by the very heart that they are 

regulating,” said M Amin Karami, assistant professor 

of mechanical engineering at the University at Buffalo 

School 

of Engineering and Applied Sciences, who is leading the 

research.

The technology may eliminate the medical risks, costs and 

inconvenience of having a battery replacement every five to 

12 years for millions of people worldwide, researchers 

said. About the size of a pocket watch, pacemakers are 

implanted under the skin through an incision in the chest. 

Wires, also called leads, connect the device to the heart 

and deliver electrical signals that regulate the heart’s activity. 

The new wireless option does not require leads because it 

rests inside the heart. This removes a potential point 

of failure, but the device still relies on a battery that must be 

replaced as often as the batteries that conventional 

pacemakers use.

The idea of heart-powered pacemakers came to Karami 

after 

doing PhD work on piezoelectric applications for unmanned 

aerial vehicles and bridges. He wanted to apply that 

knowledge to the human body. The heart was an obvious 

choice because of its relative strength and constant motion. 

“To see the heart in motion — even an animation — is to be 

awestruck. It moves significantly. In turn, that movement 

creates energy that we’re just now figuring out how to 

harvest,” said Karami.

Karami initially designed a flat piezoelectric structure for a 

conventional pacemaker. A prototype generated enough 

power to keep the pacemaker running at a range of 7 to 

700 beats per minute. With the development of wireless 

pacemakers, however, he has revamped the design to 

accommodate the smaller, tube-shaped device. Karami, who 

is already talking to device-makers, is building the new 

prototype and expects to have animal tests done within two 

years.