![]() This had much to do with nuclear weapons proliferation but also the very high toxicity of nuclear fuel: plutonium is actually the sixth most toxic material yet found. Of course, by the late 1970s, many in the scientific community, and indeed in society at large became circumspect about anything related to nuclear technology. The plutonium battery works with a tiny slug of plutonium 238 which produces radiation that bombards the walls of its container producing heat that is converted by a thermopile into an electric current. ![]() Several companies, including Coratomic, who designed and manufactured this pacemaker, introduced plutonium powered pacemakers, particularly for younger recipients, as the battery had far superior longevity - up to eighty-five years. These batteries had a maximum life of three years however, they rarely lasted much more than a year, meaning that patients had to undergo multiple surgeries to replace pacemakers. Pacemakers, by the time they were at the stage of being implantable devices in the late 1960s and early 1970s, were powered by mercury-zinc batteries. Since heart pacemakers were first developed in the 1950s, they have saved the lives of many people around the world. ![]() This can lead to temporary loss of consciousness, or heart failure and death. As a result the pumping action of their heart is slowed down. They produce and maintain a normal heart rate in patients who have a condition called 'heart block', which means that their natural pacemaker (the sinoatrial node) is not functioning properly. Cardiac pacemakers are small, implantable devices that apply regular, minute electrical impulses to the muscles of the heart.
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