Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs) with wireless telemetry functionalities in the radio-frequency (RF) range are recently attracting significant scientific interest for medical prevention, diagnosis, and therapy. One of the most crucial challenges for IMDs is the design of the integrated implantable antenna which enables bidirectional wireless communication between the IMD and exterior monitori...

OBJECTIVE To review the evidence base from randomised controlled trials of combined cardiac resynchronisation therapy and implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy in left ventricular impairment and symptomatic heart failure. DESIGN Bayesian network meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases up to June 2006. REVIEW METHODS Two reviewers independently assessed...

BACKGROUND Dysrhythmia is one of the most common causes of sudden cardiac death worldwide. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator is the most effective method of treatment for dysrhythmias causing cardiac arrest. However, living with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator is associated with challenges such as fear, anxiety, and depression. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to ide...

BACKGROUND There have been concerns that Electromagnetic security systems such as walk-through metal detectors (WTMDs) can potentially cause electromagnetic interference (EMI) in certain active medical devices including implantable cardiac pacemakers and implantable neurostimulators. Incidents of EMI between WTMDs and active medical devices also known as personal medical electronic devices (PME...

The integration of electronic elements with biological systems, resulting in novel devices with unusual functionalities, attracts significant research efforts owing to fundamental scientific interest and the possible practical applications of such devices. The commonly used buzzword ‘‘bioelectronics’’ highlights the functional integration of two different areas of science and engineering – biol...

Introduction The complaints associated with the use of conventional amplifying hearing aids prompted research at several centers worldwide that ultimately led to the development of implantable devices for aural rehabilitation. Objectives To review the history, indications, and surgical aspects of the implantable middle ear hearing devices. Data Synthesis Implantable hearing aids, such as the Vi...

Single event upsets (SEU) have been observed in implantable cardiac defibrillators. The incidence of SEUs is well modeled by upset rate calculations attributable to the secondary cosmic ray neutron flux. The effect of recent interpretations of the shape of the heavy ion cross-section curve on neutron burst generation rate calculations is discussed. The model correlates well with clinical experi...

Several conditions and diseases are linked to the elevation or depression of internal pressures from a healthy, normal range, motivating the need for chronic implantable pressure sensors. A simple implantable pressure transduction system consists of a pressure-sensing element with a method to transmit the data to an external unit. The biological environment presents a host of engineering issues...

Implantable medical devices usually require a battery to operate and this can represent a severe restriction. In most cases, the implantable medical devices must be surgically replaced because of the dead batteries; therefore, the longevity of the whole implantable medical device is determined by the battery lifespan. For this reason, researchers have been studying energy harvesting techniques ...