Implantable devices info

Biomedical Engineering and Devices Implantable Devices
1

hello there

How do implantable devices like pacemakers and cochlear implants work?

Thanks

2

Hi Laura

Pacemakers are used to treat arrhythmias — problems with the heart’s electrical rhythm, like slow heartbeats (bradycardia) or irregular rhythms. Pacemakers are small, battery-powered electronic devices implanted under the skin near the chest.

It includes:

A pulse generator (battery + circuit that controls heart rate)

Leads (wires) that go into the heart and sense electrical activity

If the heart beats too slowly, the device sends electrical impulses to stimulate heartbeats at a proper rate.

Cochlear Implants

Cochlear bypasses damaged parts of the inner ear (cochlea) and directly stimulates the auditory nerve with electrical signals.

  • Microphone captures sound.
  • Speech processor converts it into digital signals.
  • Transmitter sends this to the internal device.
  • Electrodes stimulate the auditory nerve in patterns that the brain interprets as sound The brain adapts to the input over time — users learn to understand speech and environmental sounds.
1 Like