VIDEO: M. Amin Karami, PhD, discusses piezoelectric pacemakers at the AHA 2012 Scientific Sessions

Lead study author M. Amin Karami, PhD, professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor

, discusses study results presented at AHA 2012 that demonstrated the technical feasibility of using a piezoelectric energy-harvesting device to power a pacemaker, potentially showing the way to a batteryless future for implantable cardiac devices. The nonlinear piezoelectric device used in the study generated sufficient power from heart rates of 20-600 beats per minute to power a pacemaker. Karami said that development of this technology promises to decrease size and increase longevity and functionality of cardiac implanted electrical devices.