Solar Powered Hearts
Heart Pacemaker Powered by Ligh t Stock Photo: Sunrise Over Mountain Solar Energy Heart Beats This is a tiny, solar cell that keeps the heart beating. In fact, it seems to teach the heart how to beat. It's an innovation that may lead to heart pacemakers powered by light. It's breaking new innovation invented by scientists at the University of Chicago. It's totally new and quite exciting. Specs They've created a flexible mesh from silicon that wraps around the heart. They threaded nanowires across it to connect with cardiac cells. When activated by light, it creates a tiny electrochemical effect that stimulates the heart muscles in a unique way. A small optical beam scans the heart area with a laser. Each flash activates the cells, causing the heart to beat at the rate of the light. Breakthrough Medical Innovation This research has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researc...