Outliers is pleased to discover that implantable bionic devices are also on the rise. Researchers recently published a study that found a new experimental device can use energy from a beating heart to power a pacemaker.

The researchers say that patients could power their own pacemakers. In addition, the device would reduce the need for follow-up procedures to replace the devices when their batteries run out every five to seven years.

“Many of the patients are children who live with pacemakers for many years,” M. Amin Karami, lead author of the study, said in a news release. “You can imagine how many operations they are spared if this new technology is implemented.”