Word: leechburg
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...palm-size pacemakers, developed by the ARCO Nuclear Co. of Leechburg, Pa., with a grant from the Atomic Energy Commission, use no batteries. They contain 400 mg. of the radioactive isotope plutonium 238. As it decays, the plutonium generates heat. That raises the temperature of a thermocouple system, which converts the heat to electrical power for the pacemaker. The device is similar to the nuclear pacemaker inserted in a French patient in 1970 and now used by 24 Americans. Both pacemakers are expected to operate for at least ten years. That is long enough to make the previous chest operation...
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