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AnonTechie writes:
"Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Washington University in St. Louis have developed a new device that may one day help prevent heart attacks. Unlike existing pacemakers and implantable defibrillators that are one-size-fits-all, the new device is a thin, elastic membrane designed to stretch over the heart like a custom-made glove and may arrive to human hearts in 10 to 15 years.
They custom made it to precisely fit the shape of the rabbit's heart: First, while the rabbit was still alive, they scanned it and created a 3D model using computer aided tomography. They manufactured the model in a 3D printer, which they used as a mold to create the membrane. After that they took the heart out, applied the membrane, and kept it beating at a perfect pace.
(Score: 3, Informative) by mmcmonster on Monday March 03 2014, @07:48PM
Agree. This has extremely limited usefullness.
There's also issues with the terminology used in the summary. This WILL NOT PREVENT A HEART ATTACK. A heart attack is when a segment of the heart muscle dies, typically due to insufficient blood due to an acutely occluded coronary artery (the arteries that supply the heart muscle itself with blood).
This seems to be a type of pacemaker. Pacemakers are used when the heart rate is too low. As the parent post said, we have much simpler ways to put a pacemaker than this.
As a cardiologist, I see extremely limited use for a device like this.