Injectable Cardiac Stimulator Corrects Heart Arrhythmia in Emergency Situations

Arrhythmia, a condition characterized by irregular heartbeats, occurs when the heart's electrical signals are disrupted, causing it to beat too quickly, slowly, or unevenly. While medications are commonly used to manage arrhythmia, some procedures can directly alter the heart's rhythm, such as the use of defibrillators or the surgical implantation of pacemakers. However, such interventions can be particularly challenging to implement in remote or conflict areas where access to such medical devices is limited. Now, research on animals has demonstrated a groundbreaking approach: the injection of a nanoparticle solution around the heart that forms a temporary, self-assembling heart stimulator. This device can correct arrhythmias in emergencies through an external power source and then naturally disintegrates after its use, as detailed in a publication in Nature Communications.

Nanoparticles are minuscule, allowing them to be administered via an ultra-thin needle. In a collaborative effort led by researchers at Lund University (Lund, Sweden), these nanoparticles were shown to form a conductive polymer structure around the heart upon contact with tissue. This structure seamlessly integrates with cardiac cells, supports ECG monitoring, regulates heartbeat, and corrects arrhythmic events. The close contact between the polymer and heart tissue ensures that the stimulator functions efficiently with minimal power, which can be supplied by portable devices such as a mobile phone. By connecting a cable from the phone to the injection site near the heart, the phone can power the electrode.

Image: The illustration shows how the injectable heart stimulator is supposed to work when fully developed and tested (Photo courtesy of Lund University)

The research team plans to develop a mobile app that would allow individuals to control the arrhythmia until professional medical help can be accessed. Initial tests have been conducted on small animal models like zebrafish and chicken embryos, adhering to the 3R principle to minimize the use of mammalian subjects in scientific research. With promising results from these preliminary stages, the researchers aim to advance to testing on larger animals, such as pigs, to pave the way for potential human application.

"We have developed an injectable heart stimulator for emergency situations, which consists of a syringe loaded with a solution of nanoparticles," said Roger Olsson, Professor of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics at Lund University and Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Gothenburg.

"The method is minimally invasive. Moreover, the heart stimulator spontaneously degrades and is excreted from the body after treatment, so it does not need to be surgically removed," added Martin Hjort, Associate Researcher in Chemical Biology and Therapeutics at Lund University.

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