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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: 2, Interesting) by chewbacon on Tuesday March 04 2014, @02:27AM
This is a multi-site pacemaker on the epicardium. The "membrane" merely holds it together. I think St. Jude is coming out with something similar via the endocardial route (endovascular route), which has its own challenges this would get around. However unless they perfected a sort of laparoscopic technique for this, the endovascular route is far less invasive compared to cracking open the chest for this. I would think candidacy for this and benefits outweighing risks for this therapy would be rare.
As far as ICDs go, the latest and greatest electrophysiologists are crazy about is the subcutaneous defibrillator. The device goes under the arm and a lead is tunneled under the skin and runs next to the sternum. It's a great option for relatively young patients so you don't have to do a lead (wire) replacement 20-25 years later. Uses more joules than the endovascular lead ICD, but patient's really can't tell the difference.