Swiss researchers have given a literal twist to the proverbial ticker, designing a clock-like device that could help power pacemakers by harvesting energy from the heart itself — just like an automatic watch harvests movement from the motion of the wrist.
Pacemakers and other implanted devices require a source of power, and providing that power is usually a battery; but batteries run out and need to be replaced — not a simple task when it’s an inch or two beneath your skin.
Andreas Haeberlin, from the University of Bern, and Adrian Zurbuchen, from the University of Michigan, have proposed an alternative that relies on actual clockwork — as in, salvaged from a (naturally, Swiss-made) wristwatch.
