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Membrane that can keep your heart pumping forever and possibly prevent heart attacks

  • The membrane has been proven to work on a rabbit heart
  • Researchers say it should be available for humans in the next 10-15 years

By
Ryan Gorman


PUBLISHED:

01:04 EST, 3 March 2014

|
UPDATED:

07:39 EST, 3 March 2014

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comments

Scientists have created an external membrane using a 3-D printer than can keep a heart beating virtually forever.

The thin membrane is elastic, designed to stretch over a heart like a glove, and is outfitted with tiny electrodes that monitor cardiac function – it was first demonstrated as a proof of concept on a rabbit heart.

Researchers at both the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Washington University published the astonishing breakthrough in Nature, and hope it will someday help prevent heart attacks in humans.

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The future of medicine: This custom-fit membrane is woven with a network of electrodes that sense body movement and regulate blood flow – it might one day prevent heart attacks in humans

It is about 10-15 years away from being made available to humans, but the revolutionary device might be a long-term solution to these normally catastrophic events.

The team told Gizmodo’s Sploid that they were able to custom fit it to the rabbit’s heart by using computers to scan it’s surface area and put together a mold for the membrane.

They then put it together and wove it with a spider web-like network of electrodes that interact with the rest of the body to regulate heart beat – it’s light years ahead of a pacemaker.

‘This artificial pericardium is
instrumented with high quality, man-made devices that can sense and
interact with the heart in different ways that are relevant to clinical
cardiology,’ researcher John Rorgers said.

From concept to reality: Scientists first mapped the heart using 3D imagery, they then 3D printed a model for the membrane, created the membrane and then fitted it to the heart – which it now is able to keep beating despite it being outside of the rabbit

Those sensors track tissue movement and use the signals the nervous system, would normally send to the heart to regulate pulse.

This methodology allows the device to keep the heart beating even when a heart attack or arrhythmia occurs.

‘When it senses such a catastrophic event as a heart attack or arrhythmia, it can also apply a high definition therapy,’ biomedical engineer Igor Efimov told St. Louis Public Radio.

‘It can apply stimuli, electrical stimuli, from different locations on the device in an optimal fashion to stop this arrhythmia and prevent sudden cardiac death.’

The electrical stimuli regulate the heart’s movement, which means blood will keep flowing and more people will keep living.

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    Comments (16)

    what you think

    The comments below have not been moderated.

    liz in LA,

    altadena, United States,

    15 minutes ago

    NO. I don’t want anyone who is slowly dying from a horrible disease, in pain and hanging on because this will not allow them a natural death. To know we all have to let go of these world someday makes today so important .

    Lord Lucan,

    That would be telling, Brazil,

    1 hour ago

    I have had many heart attacks leaving me with a severely damaged heart with an ejection fraction of just 19%, I also suffer arrhythmia’s, I had a triple by-pass with two failed now and an ICD installed, that’s enough. I am grateful for everything that has been done and all on the NHS which I think is wonderful and I always support, but there comes a time when enough is enough, I don’t want to live forever. I remember my mum dying, I registered her death, I was so upset, but seeing people registering their babies birth suddenly made me feel at ease, we come, we go, and someone else takes our place on this planet.

    lifeis,

    NJ, United States,

    1 hour ago

    Interesting, but a beating heart does not mean a quality life. Too many people living into their 80?s and 90?s that are bed ridden and suffering from health problems. Too many elderly rot in care homes by themselves, I for one would rather go while I still enjoy life and have freedom as opposed to rotting away for years.

    KaesMom,

    Jacksonville, United States,

    1 hour ago

    with this new 3d printing I can only imagine what the next few years will bring. It should be really interesting to watch.

    Jean Zorg,

    London, United Kingdom,

    1 hour ago

    Simply horrific. We are not meant to be immortal/eternal… the will of fire is for the young with the power of youth. although i don’t want to die. I do not desire this, as the beauty and meaningful nature of our limited lives keeps us aspiring to more.

    grumpygramma,

    Belingham,

    1 hour ago

    When it’s my time to go, I say byebye

    Run_to_da_hills,

    Dublin, Ireland,

    2 hours ago

    The United States need to stop playing God.

    grumpygramma,

    Belingham,

    1 hour ago

    lol

    My Wag Wag,

    Philadelphia, United States,

    39 minutes ago

    Yeah, life is so much better when there’s no hope. Silly to even have hospitals. I’m sure hospitals aren’t part of God’s plan. Just Church’s and cemeteries.

    Sir Passedmyself,

    Almosttoolate, United Kingdom,

    3 hours ago

    For numerous years I have seen such ‘breakthroughs’ of a medical nature that will see an end to all manner of illnesses and diseases, but for some strange reason, we won’t see the reality for 20 years. These reports are worthless because I have yet to see anyone today benefiting from any predicted cure over the last 40 years.

    grumpygramma,

    Belingham,

    1 hour ago

    obody will benefit from this kind of stuff except the rich….they don’t make it until the cost of making it can be managed.

    micky,

    tamworth, United Kingdom,

    3 hours ago

    But the people of England wont be able to have it?

    Crisp,

    Birmingham, United Kingdom,

    4 hours ago

    Wow! Science at work like this leaves me awestruck.

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