Betacel

Betacel is considered to be the first successfully commercialized betavoltaic battery. It was created with the use of Promethium-147 radioisotope as the beta-electron source and was coupled to silicon semiconductor cells. The betavoltaic program along with the development of the Betacel was led by Dr. Larry C. Olsen and a team of researchers at Donald W. Douglas Laboratories (DWDL), McDonnell Douglas Corporation, in the early 1970s. As the first (and only) viable betavoltaic power source ever developed, it was immediately used to power heart pacemakers. Betacel powered cardiac pacemakers were implanted in numerous patients in the 1970s. Biotronik GmbH & Co., Ingenieurburo, Berlin, adapted its chemical battery-powered pacemakers to accept the promethium-fueled Betacel battery. The Betacel powered Biotronik pacemakers were considered to have useful lives of 7 to 10 years. Clinical investigation of the Betacel-Biotronik pacemaker began in Europe in 1972 and was extended to the United States under State of Washington license in 1973. By early 1973, over 60 implanted Betacel- Biotronik pacemakers were being monitored as part of the clinical investigation. By mid-1974, the USAEC had authorized the licensing in the United States of a Clinical Investigation Program that allowed the implantation of 50 Betacel-Biotronik pacemakers per month in major clinics in the U.S.