2 ms·
“In the past, small "plutonium cells" (very small 238Pu-powered RTGs) were used in implanted heart pacemakers to ensure a very long "battery life". As of 2004,
by dole 7y ago
“In the past, small "plutonium cells" (very small 238Pu-powered RTGs) were used in implanted heart pacemakers to ensure a very long "battery life". As of 2004, about ninety were still in use. By the end of 2007, the number was reported to be down to just nine. The Mound Laboratory Cardiac Pacemaker program began on 1 June 1966, in conjunction with NUMEC. When it was recognized that the heat source would not remain intact during cremation, the program was cancelled in 1972 because there was no way to completely ensure that the units would not be cremated with their users' bodies.“