Implantable heart patch seals holes and regenerates tissue

A team of researchers have developed a 3D-printed, biodegradable heart patch that seals holes in heart tissue and supports tissue regeneration, showing promise as a safer alternative to current surgical materials.

Worldwide, the leading cause of death is heart attack. Those who survive a heart attack face an ongoing issue with the heart’s efficiency, caused by the death of heart cells and the scar tissue that subsequently forms. In severe cases, the heart wall can rupture, requiring emergency surgery.

Over the years, scientists have developed implantable patches to seal and support damaged heart tissue. In a new study led by ETH Zurich in Switzerland, researchers developed and tested a new type of cardiac patch that not only seals defective areas of the heart, but also heals them.

“Traditional heart patches do not integrate into the heart tissue and remain permanently in the body,” said the study’s lead author, Lewis Jones, a bioengineering researcher at ETH Zurich’s Soft Robotics Lab. “We wanted to solve this problem with our patch, which integrates into the existing heart tissue.”

To create their implantable, reinforced cardiac tissue patch, which they called the “RCPatch,” the researchers 3D printed a biodegradable, biocompatible polyester metamaterial scaffold with tunable stiffness, meaning its rigidity or flexibility could be adjusted to match surrounding heart tissue. The scaffold was infused with a fibrin-based hydrogel containing induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs).

Zdroj obrázku: Soft Robotics Lab/ETH Zurich.