Reestablishment of Physiological Regulation

Abstract

The exemplary collaboration between engineering sciences and medicine has, in recent decades, developed electropacing of the heart into an extremely successful therapy. Due to high technological standards, cardiac pacemakers have become therapeutic agents that reliably reestablish cardiovascular function and improve the quality of life for a large number of patients. Their superiority over previous forms of treatment arises from the utilization of still existing physiological regulatory processes of the cardiovascular system. An understanding of natural impulse formation, impulse conduction, and replacement by artificial processes substantiates the success of the aforementioned interdisciplinary efforts.