The Pacemaker Patch - Hackaday

Sarah Johnson · Jun 13, 2026

A pacemaker is implanted to send signals that regulate a patient’s heartbeat, and to do that, you need power. That means they require battery changes, and when the device in question happens …

The Pacemaker Patch

https://hackaday.com/2026/06/13/the-pacemaker-patch/#comments" class="comments-counts"> 32 Comments

https://hackaday.com/author/wd5gnr1/"

https://hackaday.com/2026/06/13/" title="June 13, 2026 - 10:00 pm">June 13, 2026 Title: Copy Short Link: Copy https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/pacesq.png?w=600&h=600" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/pace.png?w=800" alt="">

A pacemaker is implanted to send signals that regulate a patient’s heartbeat, and to do that, you need power. That means they require battery changes, and when the device in question happens to be inside your chest, that means surgery. Sometimes as often as every five years. [Alex Music] writing in Spectrum notes that researchers have a new paper discussing a possible alternative: a tiny patch stuck to the outside of the chest that uses https://spectrum.ieee.org/pacemaker-and-ultrasound" target="_blank">ultrasound to pace the heart rhythm.

Rats, pigs, and human heart cell samples have all responded to the system. You might wonder how ultrasound could make your heart beat, but the new pacemaker relies on gene therapy to sensitize your heart cells to the high-frequency waves. The therapy is delivered by a simple injection.

In addition to the chest patch, the patient would need a data and power module that they could keep in their pocket. The gene therapy doesn’t alter your DNA but introduces RNA to make heart cells produce a sound-sensitive protein in the cell’s ion channels. When stimulated, the ion channels admit calcium, which causes the heart to beat.

Pacemakers are nothing less than a modern" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://hackaday.com/2020/09/16/otis-boykins-precision-passives-propelled-the-pacemaker/">modern technological marvel. Maybe if this catches on, cheap junked pacemakers will show up on the surplus market. They could" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://hackaday.com/2012/01/19/reusing-an-old-pacemaker-as-a-flash-timer/">could be useful.

Posted in https://hackaday.com/category/medical-hacks/" rel="category tag">Medical Hacks, https://hackaday.com/category/science/" rel="category tag">ScienceTagged https://hackaday.com/tag/gene-therapy/" rel="tag">gene-therapy, https://hackaday.com/tag/pacemaker/" rel="tag">pacemaker

https://hackaday.com/2026/06/13/the-pacemaker-patch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="inline-block bg-blue-600 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white font-semibold px-6 py-3 rounded-lg transition">Read Full Article on Hackaday

The Pacemaker Patch - Hackaday

The Pacemaker Patch

Comments (0)