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What battery chemistry, introduced in the early 1970s, dramatically increased the lifespan of implantable pacemakers and helped make long-term cardiac pacing clinically practical?

Lithium-iodide battery chemistry. Wilson Greatbatch developed the lithium-iodide battery for implantable pacemakers, with the first human implant using this chemistry occurring in 1972. It extended device life from roughly 1–2 years (with earlier mercury-zinc batteries) to a decade or more, fundamentally changing pacemaker reliability and reducing the need for replacement surgeries. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org 


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