Mattson, Alexander2020-09-222020-09-222018-07https://hdl.handle.net/11299/216362University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. July 2018. Major: Biomedical Engineering. Advisor: Paul Iaizzo. 1 computer file (PDF); xvii, 196 pages + 3 supplementary files.Over 600,000 permanent pacing systems are implanted each calendar year as the primary therapy for symptomatic bradycardia. Innovations in pacing technology have rapidly expanded the indications for this life-saving therapy, while reducing complication rates. This thesis examined three prongs of emergent pacing technologies: leadless pacing, epicardial/extravascular pacing, and physiologic pacing through the bundle of His. First, I quantitatively evaluated the likely target anatomies for next-generation pacing systems. Then, anatomic data was supplemented with biomechanics, to provide the foundation upon which next-generation leadless pacemaker fixation mechanisms may be built. Finally, I investigated some of the challenges of extracting leadless pacing systems. The data in this thesis provided a substrate for the design and implementation of next-generation pacing systems.enAdiposeBiomechanicsBundle of HisCardiacLeadlessPacemakerThesis or Dissertation