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Written By: Agencies | Published : June 28, 2016 2:38 PM IST
Scientists have built a bionic cardiac patch that could act similarly to a pacemaker and monitor as well as respond to cardiac problems. The researchers from Harvard University constructed nanoscale electronic scaffolds that can be seeded with cardiac cells to produce a bionic cardiac patch -- the engineered heart tissue with ability to replace heart muscle damaged during a heart attack. I think one of the biggest impacts would ultimately be in the area that involves replaced of damaged cardiac tissue with pre-formed tissue patches, said Charles Lieber, who along with colleagues described the work in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Rather than simply implanting an engineered patch built on a passive scaffold, our works suggests it will be possible to surgically implant an innervated patch that would now be able to monitor and subtly adjust its performance, he added. (Read: Novel cardiac patch may replace diseased heart tissue)
Once implanted, the bionic patch could act similarly to a pacemaker -- delivering electrical shocks to correct arrhythmia. Unlike traditional pacemakers, the bionic patch -- because its electronic components are integrated throughout the tissue -- can detect arrhythmia far sooner, and operate at far lower voltages. Even before a person started to go into large-scale arrhythmia that frequently causes irreversible damage or other heart problems, this could detect the early-stage instabilities and intervene sooner, Lieber said. It can also continuously monitor the feedback from the tissue and actively respond, he added. The patch might also find use as a tool to monitor the responses under cardiac drugs, or to help pharmaceutical companies to screen the effectiveness of drugs under development. (Read: Do you need this pocket-sized device to monitor your pacemaker at home?)
Source: IANS
Photo source: Getty images (Image for representational purpose only)
