Engineers in the United States have developed a new device that stimulates the heart muscle and corrects the rhythm of its contractions using pulses of ultrasound waves, in a move that could represent an important development in the treatment of heart rhythm disorders.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) press service stated that the device underwent successful testing on animals suffering from heart rhythm disorders, and demonstrated the ability to regulate heart rhythm using a non-surgical technique.
Professor Zhao Xuanhe of MIT said: "We are confident that in the future similar devices in the form of patches that are attached to the human body could be used to stimulate and monitor organs in the long term at the same time, without interfering with the body's functioning or the need for any surgical procedures."
He explained that millions of people around the world need pacemakers to treat irregular heartbeats that do not respond to drug treatment, noting that traditional devices rely on electronic systems and electrodes that are implanted inside the body and connected to the surface of the heart, which may carry health risks and cause discomfort to the patient.
The researchers added that the new system aims to reduce these risks by developing a "wireless" stimulation method for the heart muscle based on ultrasound waves, where sensitive ion channels in heart cells respond to this stimulation, allowing control over muscle contraction by regulating the flow of calcium ions inside the cells.
They pointed out that the system consists of a medical patch equipped with a built-in source of ultrasound waves, in addition to electronics capable of monitoring the heartbeat and issuing accurate corrective pulses.
The research team confirmed that experiments conducted on animal models showed high effectiveness in controlling heart rhythms, which opens the way in the future for the development of non-invasive wearable devices to treat heart rhythm disorders, and perhaps their use in monitoring and stimulating other organs in the body.
