Heartvest
Harnessing the heart’s own energy
Pacemaker batteries have a limited lifespan, which means that many patients need additional surgery to have their pacemaker replaced.
Heartvest aims to address this by harnessing the heart’s own movement to generate electrical energy to power the pacemaker. The goal is a pacemaker with a lifelong power supply – reducing the need for repeat surgery and the associated risk of complications.
Clinical need
Pacemaker therapy is an effective treatment for patients with heart rhythm disorders, and the complications associated with pacemaker implantation and subsequent management are well documented.
Each year, more than 5,000 people in Denmark receive a pacemaker. As the average battery life of a conventional pacemaker is up to approximately 10 years, more than 1,500 patients undergo pacemaker replacement each year. Some patients, however, develop complications or technical problems that require the entire pacemaker system to be removed and replaced. These procedures are technically complex, resource-intensive and associated with significant costs.
The risk of infection is also substantially higher – up to six times higher – in repeat procedures than in first-time implantation. Pacemaker-related infections often require complete removal of the pacemaker system, which is a high-risk procedure.
For patients, this involves a significant risk of serious illness, longer hospital stays and reduced quality of life. At the same time, treatment places an additional burden on the healthcare system and is associated with substantial additional costs.
Solution
The invention, Heartvest, is a mini-generator for intracardiac pacemakers designed to provide an inexhaustible, lifelong power source. The generator module harnesses the heart’s movement to generate electrical energy, enabling the pacemaker to recharge itself.
This could spare patients from repeat surgery and reduce the associated burden on the healthcare system, as well as the risk of complications. It could also allow physicians to choose a less complex and invasive pacemaker and procedure from the outset.