Patch Delivers Drugs Directly to Heart
August 28, 2018 | Terry Sharrer
In order to get drugs, proteins or stem cells to the heart after an infarction, a collaboration headed by Harvard bioengineers has invented a refillable patch that is sutured directly on the heart. “The patch contains a sponge-like biomaterial that holds and releases therapies through the permeable surface of the device. The biomaterial can be connected to a port or pump outside the body when it needs to be refilled. In a pre-clinical study, the researchers demonstrated that Therepi can increase heart function for more than four weeks when stem cells are repeatedly delivered to the reservoir.” MORE
Image Credit: Second Bay Studio/Harvard SEAS