Pacemakers commercial

There are several other commercial products containing segmented polyurethane (SPU) such as pellethane or cardiothane. These SPUs are widely recognized to possess notable biomedical properties as materials for artificial heart and intra-aortic balloon pumping (IABP), and also as coating materials for pacemaker-lead insulators (See Sect. 4.1). 

Silver, copper and other oxosalts have been extensively studied as cathodes in laboratory cells commercial power sources, principally for pacemakers, using silver chromate were manufactured until the 1980s, and silver vanadate or silver vanadium oxide (Ag2V4On), first reported by workers at Wilson Greatbatch Ltd, is currently used as cathode in implantable cardiac defibrillator batteries. 

Other applications include rotomolded tanks and containers for the storage of corrosive chemicals, such as nitric or hydrochloric acid. Extruded sheets can be thermoformed into various parts, such as battery cases for heart pacemakers.58 ECTFE film is used as release sheet in the fabrication of high-temperature composites for aerospace applications. Braided cable jackets made from monofilament strands are used in military and commercial aircraft as a protective sleeve for cables.59... 

Polyurethanes were first suggested for use as biomaterials in 1967 [36]. Polyurethane materials have excellent mechanical properties, making them suitable for many different biomedical applications. Currently, a variety of polyurethanes are used in biomedical devices like coatings for catheters and pacemaker leads (Table A.2). The biocompatibility of biomedical polyurethanes appears to be determined by their purity i.e., the effectiveness of the removal from the polymer of catalyst residues and low molecular weight oligomers [37]. The surface properties of commercially available polyurethanes, which are critically important in determining biocompatibility, can vary considerably, even among lots of the same commercially available preparation [38]. 

Although no longer used, zinc-mercuric oxide (Zn/HgO) cells were the power source of choice for the first commercially viable implantable cardiac pacemakers. More than 3 million Zn/HgO cells were implanted in the 16 years from when the first successful cardiac pacemaker was implanted in 1960 and 1976 [20]. They helped many bradycardia patients until they were eventually supplanted by lithium cells, particularly IAH2, so a brief description of Zn/HgO technology is included here. Zn/HgO cells were also once used in wearable hearing aids. 

An integral part of many pacing system follow-up programs is transtelephonic monitoring (TTM) (72-74). This can be initiated by the physician and support staff out of an individual office or provided by a commercial service based on a specific prescription by the physician. Reports of each periodic evaluation are sent to the patient s physician. TTM provides a cost-effective means for frequent monitoring as the implanted device is getting older and there is concern about approaching RRT. It also provides a link between the patient and the physician for those patients who hve alone, who are very anxious, or pacemaker dependent. 

DOTY Since you chose to mention G.E. Na/3"alumina/Br2 pacemaker cell, I feel that the Li/l2 complex battery developed by Dr. A.L. Schneider at Catalyst Research Corp. should also be mentioned. Although there have not been very many publications about this system. Dr. Schneider has presented papers on it at Brighton, last year, and also at the various U.S. Power Sources Conferences. This battery is probably one of the few really commercially available batteries. It has been used in several thousand pacemakers over the last 2 1/2 years and is finding increasing usage each year. 

New batteries use lithium anodes and different types of cathode. Primary cells, non-rechargeable, have been commercially available since 1990. They are used in watches, cameras, microcomputers, implanted pacemakers and similar applications. They are also used in different missile programs. Lithium primary cells are characterized... 

The isotope Pm is commercially available and has found some use. Its emission of low-energy 3-particles is used industrially to measure the thickness of strip steel and paper. To some extent it is also used in miniature batteries with a useful hfe of about five years. These have been tested for such diverse purposes as pacemakers and guided missiles. A paint containing Pm and a material that fluoresces with a bluish-green color after being hit by the P-particles may be used for hour hands and dials in watches. Promethium has replaced radium for reasons of health. 

The transuranium elements have a number of commercial uses. Plutonium-238 emits only alpha radiation, which is easily stopped by shielding. The isotope has been used as a power source for space sateUites, navigation buoys, and heart pacemakers. Americium-241 is both an alpha-ray and a gamma-ray emitter. The gamma rays are used in devices that measure the thickness of matmals such as metal sheets. Americium-241 is also used in home smoke detectors, in which the alpha radiation ionizes the air in a chamb within the detector and renders it electrically conducting. Smoke reduces the conductivity of the air, and this reduced conductivity is detected by an alarm drcuiL... 

The frequency of radiation used in NMR depends on the field strength of the magnet used in the instrument. Frequencies range from 60 to 600 MHz for commercial instruments. Modern NMR equipment uses RF pulses in Fourier transform systems. There are no known safety concerns associated with these frequencies of radiation. However NMR magnetic fields can have adverse effects on pacemakers and other medical devices (see below under magnetic fields). 

Solid state primary batteries can provide very long-life operation at low currents. The first example of such an application is the lithium-iodide solid state battery for cardiac pacemakers which is manufactured in the US by Catalyst Research Co., by Wilson Greatbatch, and by Medtronic Inc. The second example is lithium-glass battery, whose application envisaged is mainly as a power source for electronic computers, such as C-MOS memory backup. Cells commercially available are design XR2025HT by the Union Carbide group. 

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