The Jetsons were in a sci fi cartoon in the Sixties which showed us all the cool things we were never going to have. Many Baby Boomers have lusted after Jetson flying bubble cars all our lives and only recently came to the realization there won't be any flying bubble cars plus anyone flying a bubble car would probably be drunk anyway.
Ed: and have a gun!
Sure, drunken bubble car sky rage with guns! It's the future, man!
But there is some stuff from the Jetsons generation in the future which was not predicted by the cartoon but came anyway.
How about a pacemaker for the heart which is about the size of a nickel and can be positioned via a catheter rather than by cracking the patient's chest for open heart surgery. (Science Daily: World’s smallest pacemaker revealed)
Houston Methodist Hospital is one of the first hospitals in Texas to offer the world's smallest pacemaker for patients with bradycardia, a condition characterized by a slow heart rate, usually fewer than 60 beats per minute.
The Micra® Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS), recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is a new type of heart device that provides patients with the most advanced pacing technology at one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker and is the only leadless pacemaker approved for use in the U.S. The device is the size of a large vitamin, and unlike traditional pacemakers, it does not require cardiac wires (leads) or a surgical "pocket" under the skin to deliver a pacing therapy.
- SD
Texas has something of a tradition of excellence with cardiac procedures and this goes back to the first implantation of an artificial heart. Texas Methodist has now created a new standard for pacemakers which is radically different and apparently safer than others. There's an obvious irony in such a high standard in cardiac research in the state with such a low standard for high schools but there's no obvious explanation for how it got that way.
Ed: stupid people?
Well, I don't think stupid people make radical improvements to cardiac devices and procedures.
"The device is small enough to be delivered through a catheter and implanted directly into the heart, providing a safe alternative to conventional pacemakers without the complications associated with leads," Paul Schurmann, M.D., a cardiologist with Houston Methodist Hospital who implanted the device. "The device also allows us to automatically adjust pacing therapy based on a patient's activity levels and another positive is the battery can last up to 10 years."
For patients who need more than one heart device, the miniaturized Micra® TPS was designed with a unique feature that enables it to be permanently turned off so it can remain in the body and a new device can be implanted without risk of electrical interaction.
"This is not a complicated procedure and the first patient that we implanted is doing extremely well," Schurmann said. "I believe this gives us another tool to help save lives of patients with slow or irregular heart rhythms."
- SD
I'm not in the market for one of these since I've not managed to wreak any particular damage on my heart but I know some of your have enjoyed the catheter via the groin which permits cardiac procedures and the new invention may have some bearing on your life since it has already received FDA approval.
Ed: and have a gun!
Sure, drunken bubble car sky rage with guns! It's the future, man!
But there is some stuff from the Jetsons generation in the future which was not predicted by the cartoon but came anyway.
How about a pacemaker for the heart which is about the size of a nickel and can be positioned via a catheter rather than by cracking the patient's chest for open heart surgery. (Science Daily: World’s smallest pacemaker revealed)
Houston Methodist Hospital is one of the first hospitals in Texas to offer the world's smallest pacemaker for patients with bradycardia, a condition characterized by a slow heart rate, usually fewer than 60 beats per minute.
The Micra® Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS), recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is a new type of heart device that provides patients with the most advanced pacing technology at one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker and is the only leadless pacemaker approved for use in the U.S. The device is the size of a large vitamin, and unlike traditional pacemakers, it does not require cardiac wires (leads) or a surgical "pocket" under the skin to deliver a pacing therapy.
- SD
Texas has something of a tradition of excellence with cardiac procedures and this goes back to the first implantation of an artificial heart. Texas Methodist has now created a new standard for pacemakers which is radically different and apparently safer than others. There's an obvious irony in such a high standard in cardiac research in the state with such a low standard for high schools but there's no obvious explanation for how it got that way.
Ed: stupid people?
Well, I don't think stupid people make radical improvements to cardiac devices and procedures.
"The device is small enough to be delivered through a catheter and implanted directly into the heart, providing a safe alternative to conventional pacemakers without the complications associated with leads," Paul Schurmann, M.D., a cardiologist with Houston Methodist Hospital who implanted the device. "The device also allows us to automatically adjust pacing therapy based on a patient's activity levels and another positive is the battery can last up to 10 years."
For patients who need more than one heart device, the miniaturized Micra® TPS was designed with a unique feature that enables it to be permanently turned off so it can remain in the body and a new device can be implanted without risk of electrical interaction.
"This is not a complicated procedure and the first patient that we implanted is doing extremely well," Schurmann said. "I believe this gives us another tool to help save lives of patients with slow or irregular heart rhythms."
- SD
I'm not in the market for one of these since I've not managed to wreak any particular damage on my heart but I know some of your have enjoyed the catheter via the groin which permits cardiac procedures and the new invention may have some bearing on your life since it has already received FDA approval.
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