As a medical negligence department, we are faced on a daily basis with instances of people being let down by medical professionals, whether in the NHS or privately. We do however still appreciate the amazing work that medical professionals can do and the difference it can make to patients and we think it is important to applaud medical advances. One such example of this is the revolutionary development of a wireless pacemaker which is the size of a pill. Consultant cardiologist Dr Renjith Antony fitted the device, which is smaller than a AAA battery, for the first time at Castle Hill Hospital in East Yorkshire this month.

Pacemakers are small electrical devices which are surgically implanted into a person’s chest. They send electrical pulses to your heart to keep it beating regularly and not too slowly. Historically, pacemakers are about the size of a matchbox and require a separate battery under the skin and wires that connect to the heart. They need to be connected to heart during surgery under local anaesthetic.

The new wireless pacemaker is a one piece device that is implanted directly into the heart via a vein. It is much smaller than a traditional pacemaker and weighs only a couple of grams. Inserting it is much easier, as the surgeon does not need to open the chest.

This in turn significantly reduces the risk of infection related to the inserting of the pacemaker. A heart infection can have significant consequences, particularly if the patient is already vulnerable to infection, such as if they have cancer. It also reduces the recovery time.

This is a truly gamechanging development and we wholeheartedly support such advances in medicine.