On wednasday, In an 89-year-old Delhi resident, Gurgaon hospital inserted the world’s smallest pacemaker for patients with bradycardia - a condition in which the heart beats very slow.

The pacemaker, comparable to the size of a vitamin capsule, was inserted in the patient’s body in a surgery that lasted only 30 minutes at Medanta- The Medicity.

A 89 year old patient from Delhi, said, “I am happy that my body was not cut open for placing the pacemaker. When the doctor told us about the capsule-sized pacemaker, we were not sure but the insertion did not take time and was painless”.

The new pacemaker is merely 2 grams compared to the 25 grams instrument used conventionally.

The Micra Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS) is placed inside the heart through a keyhole puncture in the groin, which was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The device does not require cardiac wires (leads) or a surgical pocket under the skin to deliver a pacing therapy.

Dr. Balbir Singh, chairman of Department of EP & Pacing and senior interventional cardiologist at Medanta hospital, said, “The latest innovation in pacemaker technology coupled with the minimally invasive procedure increases the benefit to a patient manifold. Not only is Micra TPS device MRI compatible, it also does not have wires like other traditional pacemakers that reduce the risks of infections caused due to wires”.

Dr VK Bahl, head of the department of cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, said, “The first implant was placed in India at AIIMS about a year back. Four or five other centres including city’s Govind Ballabh Pant hospital and a centre from Hyderabad and Bangalore each participated in the trial from India”.

The Micra TPS also includes a retrieval feature. Although the device is designed to be left in the body.