Heart attack patch developed that could repair the muscle without the need for stitches

December 1, 2016

Scientists have developed a stick-on patch that could be used in future
It helps bridge the electrical impulses between different parts of the heart
Experts say it is long lasting and works without needing surgical stitches

Colin Fernandez Science Correspondent For The Daily Mail

Published:
14:00 EST, 30 November 2016

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Updated:
16:50 EST, 30 November 2016

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Scientists have developed a stick-on patch that could one day be used to repair damage to the human heart.

Scars left on hearts after cardiac arrests can lead to irregular heart rhythms.

This is because scar tissue disrupt the electrical impulses that allow a heart to beat in time.

The new patch helps to ‘bridge’ the electrical impulses correctly across different parts of the heart.

The flexible patch, which has been shown to work in animal models, is long lasting and has the significant advantage that it can be stuck onto the heart without the need for stitches.

The flexible patch is long lasting and has the significant advantage that it can be stuck onto the heart without the need for stitches

The research, by an Australian and British team led by Dr Damia Mawad at UNSW in Sydney and Professor Molly Stevens at Imperial College London, is published in the journal Science Advances.

Professor Sian Harding of Imperial’s National Heart and Lung Institute said: ‘Heart attacks create a scar which slows and disrupts the conduction of electrical impulses across the heart.’

Around the size of a postage stamp, the patch is fixed in place during surgery by shining a laser on it.

It is made out of a sandwich of materials including chitosan, a material found in crab shells, a polymer, called polyaniline, and another chemical, phytic acid.

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This acide ensures that the polymer keeps conducting electricity, even in the presence of wet body tisseus.

The conducting layer in the patch is made out of a polymer called polyaniline, and also phytic acid, a chemical which reacts to switch the conducting layer ‘on’.

Dr Damia Nawad, of UNSW said: ‘Conducting polymers work when they are dry, but most become non-conducting in a very short time when placed in bodily fluids.’

‘Our suture-less patch represents a big advance. We have shown it is stable and retains it conductivity in physiological conditions for more than two weeks, compared with the usual one day of other designs.

‘No stitches are required to attach it, so it is minimally invasive and less damaging to the heart, and it moves more closely with the heart’s motion.’

The patch is made to adhere to the heart tissue by shining a green laser on it, in a patented technique developed at UNSW by Dr Antonio Lauto of Western Sydney University.

The patch was tested by implanting it in rats. It was found to improve the conduction of electrical impulses across the scar tissue.

Dr Mawad said: ‘We envisage heart attack patients eventually having patches attached as a bridge between the healthy and the scar tissue, to help prevent cardiac arrhythmia.

‘However, our patch is at the very early stages of this research. This technology can now be used for basic research to gain insights into the interface between the material and tissue.’