European project BioPACE develops “light-hearted” approach to treating cardiac arrhythmia.
German research center Laser Zentrum Hannover (LZH) has developed a “biohybrid cardiac pacemaker” in cooperation with four partners in a joint research project known as BioPACE. The new approach is intended to treat cardiac arrhythmia more gently by using targeted optical stimulation of the heart’s cardiac muscle and other muscle groups.
The goal of the BioPACE project is to research and develop biohybrid implants for light-induced cardiac excitation, defibrillation as well as stimulation of skeletal muscles. To achieve this innovative therapeutic concept, the partners, LZH, Hannover Medical School, the Center for Applied Nanotechnology (Hamburg) and company LifePhotonic, are combining their latest findings from the project’s related fields of photonics, optogenetics, nanotechnology and medicine.
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