Abstract
The lithium iodide power source is completely dry, produces no gas, has no significant self-discharge, shows no catastrophic failure, and loses power in a gradual fashion, thus giving months of foreknowledge of impending failure.
The calculated in-vitro life of this system is greater than 10 years, while a conservative estimate of in-vivo life is 5 years. Seven lithium pacemakers were implanted in patients with Stokes-Adams syndrome. Only in the early period following the implant, pacing failure in one case and sensing failure in one case were noted in our seven patients. Our cases were followed up with the longest period of nine months with satisfactory functioning according to specifications.
