[sgtnoodle]

This is interesting. They're replacing the pacemaker's leads with optical fiber, with a tiny solar cell at the end. They send a pulse of light down the fiber optic cable, causing the solar cell to convert it to enough charge to "capture" the muscle.

Pacemaker leads don't just deliver charge, though. They're used to measure the heart's natural electrical activity so that the pacemaker can synchronize its pulses. I suppose that's something that can be done remotely through a more traditional ECG electrode placement.

This is pretty neat. Pacemaker leads are an amazing piece of engineering, but being able to place leads non-invasively through a syringe would be a huge advancement. I also suspect the fiber optic could be made to last significantly longer.