I’ll admit I’ve been out of the field for a couple years so my information is going to be outdated, but I believe the issue with using MHD for continuous stimulation is that it generates tiny amounts of power - enough to trickle-charge a pacemaker, but not enough to keep tickling the brainstem with the frequency needed in DBS.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
huh, so you wouldn’t have to plug in and recharge your pace?
Warl0k3@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
I think the idea was to provide a redundant method of charging in case you’re unable or forget to recharge it externally.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
now that is a novel use of piezoelectricity. whoever thought of that needs many sloppy kisses from many cats
Warl0k3@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
Yeah. Unfortunately even rechargable pacemakers are extremely rare - almost all of them just expect that you’ll have to replace the battery every several years (I think the average is 5?), which in the long run isn’t terrible. Rechargeable batteries self-discharge far too much and as a result require quite frequent recharging so are far from ideal for implantation, although not having to undergo regular surgery to replace the battery is obviously a highly desirable outcome. The idea with internal power generation is to bridge the gap between the two and allow a person to go for far longer without the need for invasive surgery, but without the drawbacks inherent to rechargable chemistries.