Scientists have developed a 3D glove-like electronic membrane that can be used to stop arrhythmia and prevent heart attacks.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Washington University in St. Louis have developed a stretchable electronic membrane than can be placed around the heart to regularize its rhythm and potentially prevent heart attacks by predicting a catastrophic event by applying electronic stimuli across different parts on the device to “stop this arrhythmia and prevent sudden cardiac death.”
In the demo below, they first used high-res imaging to map out a 3D model of a live rabbit’s heart. The heart was 3D printed, and the membrane was then made around that model. The rabbit’s heart was then taken out so that the scientists could apply the perfectly customized membrane around it. Once activated, it was able to maintain a perfectly consistent heart beat while the heart was outside of the rabbit’s body.
Igor Efimov of Washington University stated that the membrane’s surface is layered with a complex network of electrodes than can continuously monitor electrical activity across the entire heart’s surface and can keep it beating at a healthy rate. Other than acting is a better pacemaker, the electrodes can also detect potential events that could lead to cardiac arrest, and could send out electrical stimuli in an optimal fashion to control the arrhythmia.
They hope to see the product being approved for use in patients within the next 10-15 years.
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