Duda's Epic Quest To Epicness

Medical Topic of the day:
Today's Topic:  Today's topic is a personal favorite of medical esoterica. Nuclear-powered pacemakers.


Off the top of my head:  An early pacemaker design manufactured by Meditronic used heat from the decay of a small plutonium core.  They were pretty fancy for the time.  The half-life for the plutonium was good for the life of the person and the pacemaker.  The case was manufactured out of titanium alloy and designed to survive impact from most calibers of bullets and also cremation.  Let's look at the history of the

My research today:  Nuclear-powered pacemakers were first introduced in 1973 as a alternative to mercury-zinc battery pacemakers which had a maximum battery life of 3 years but was usually much shorter than that.  Nuclear pacemakers still work after 40+ years.   That is if you can find one.  They stopped using them in favor of  lithium battery powered models which were smaller and not radioactive in the mid 1980's.  Fewer than 50 people in the US still have one.

Here is the nuclear battery:

This has a small chunk of Plutonium-238 that decays at a constant rate creating heat that is converted into electrical energy with a thermocouple.


The whole thing with wiring and everything else looks like this in the titanium case:

I know what you are thinking:  "So how much radiation did this expose people to?"  Well, not much; radiation exposure per year to the patient was 0.1 rem total which is like 10 chest x-rays or 25 coast-to-coast airline flights.  It's not too bad.

Meditronic was not the only company to produce nuclear powered pacemakers, two other companies did as well (The Cordis Corporation and Coratomic Inc.) and each company had it's own variation in how the device worked.  In 1974 a nuclear powered pacemaker cost between 3500 and 4000 dollars.

If you can find one in a museum chances are it's still ticking.  However, the people that still have them implanted today must have them removed and sent to the nuclear research lab at Los Alamos New Mexico upon their death to be properly disposed of.

Quest to 180:
Current Weight:  226 - Stuck
Activity Today:  Back at it.  Two miles walking.  Gonna try that trainer thing again tonight.
Diet today: Really good today.

Comments: Feeling much better but still tired.

The MAN:
Confidence Level:  Low
Social Engineering Tactics:  Confidence
Comments:  According to my research the sexiest thing a man can wear is confidence.  While I am developing my confidence I am probably going to wear pants too.


Random:
Listening to:  Nothing today.
Watching:  Hatfield's & McCoys on the history channel.  It is disappointing.  I sort of feel like they all deserved each other.
Reading:  Whipping Star by Frank Hebert
Something fun:  Ching-wah TSAO duh liou mahng - Learn to curse at someone in Chinese!

Are you an American?  Then probably over 85% of what you eat or drink contains corn.

Questions or comments can be submitted to dudaday@gmail.com

Disclaimer:  I am not a health care provider, any information presented in this blog should not be considered advice it is mealy an outlet to slake my curiosity.  You should always consult your primary medical provider for any concerns or illness.  Unlike Tylenol, I am not approved by the FDA or American Medical Association to treat or provide relief for any ailment.