Researchers have developed a new device to treat heart patients that can be monitored remotely and transmit information to doctors in real time. The electronic device, the size of a postage stamp, outperforms conventional heart devices such as pacemakers and dissolves harmlessly in the body after treatment ends.
The new device, developed by researchers at Northwestern University and George Washington University, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“Current postoperative monitoring and treatment of these complications requires more sophisticated technology than is currently available. We hope our new device can bridge this technology gap. Our transient electronics can map electrical activity at multiple locations in the atrium , and then provide electrical stimulation coming from many places to stop atrial fibrillation as soon as it occurs,” explain Igor Efimov, an experimental cardiologist at Northwestern University, co-led the study.
It is estimated that about 700,000 people in the United States die from heart disease each year, and about one-third of these deaths are due to complications in the first few weeks or months after the onset of the disease, so monitoring after a cardiac event is very important.
“Many deaths that occur after cardiac surgery or heart attack could have been prevented if doctors had better tools to monitor and treat patients in the delicate weeks and months after these events. The tools developed in our work has great potential to address unmet needs in many basic and translational cardiac research projects,” said co-leader Luyao Lu.
The highly transparent device can be placed in various parts of the heart, allowing doctors to examine specific areas and provide treatment. The researchers believe the invention will aid in the future treatment of serious heart complications, including atrial fibrillation and heart block, as well as heart surgery or catheter-based treatments.
The absorbable nature of the device makes it more efficient as it reduces the costs and risk of infection associated with tooth extraction.
“Similar to absorbable sutures, the device degrades through the body’s natural biological processes and then disappears completely,” the researchers said. “The bioabsorbable nature of the device could reduce medical costs and reduce the risk of infection by avoiding surgical removal complications and reducing the risk of infection.” improve patient outcomes.” explain.
Published by Medicaldaily.com