I3A researchers are working to create a device that recovers heart functions after a heart attack

An international study combines cell therapy and bioengineering to design a biological device that partially recovers cardiac functionality after a chronic heart attack. Our heart beats between 50 and 100 times per minute. For proper functioning, it needs to act by pumping blood to all the organs, which is why it requires high energy consumption in each heartbeat.

 

Three research groups from the Engineering Research Institute of Aragon (I3A) from the University of Zaragoza (TME Lab, AMB and BSiCOS) participate in the European BRAV projectƎ, in which they have been working for a year to give a second life to the heart after a non-acute heart attack.

 

In total, 14 European institutions from five countries are involved and led by the Clínica Universidad de Navarra, it has been financed by the European Commission with eight million euros, within the Horizon 2020 Program.

 

The goal is to develop a biological device, which they have called BioVAD (Biological Device of Ventricular Assistance), which would replace the mechanical cardiac ventricular assist devices used in patients in need of a heart transplant, with heart failure temporarily or after suffering a mild heart attack. Current devices do not offer a durable solution, rarely exceeding five years of useful life, and 20% of pacemaker they end up degenerating and producing arrhythmias in the person who wears it.

 

To design this new device composed of a mesh of biocompatible material, BRAV3 researchers are employing the most advanced technology in Print 3D, in the development of new biomaterials and in the differentiation and conditioning of stem cells.

 

The optimal mesh design is obtained through techniques of computer modeling and simulation to reproduce the functionality and biomechanics of the human heart and the cellularized mesh, as well as the joint behavior after implanting it in the infarcted area.

 

“They are devices, made with cellular meshes, which are intended to help the infarcted heart to partially recover its pumping capacity -explains Manuel Doblaré, researcher and project coordinator at the I3A- and on these supports a hydrogel is incorporated so that the cardiac cells, the cardiomyocytes, adhere to it. to help contract and recover heart functions".

 

Keep in mind that an infarcted heart is not able to pump the necessary amount of blood for the proper functioning of the human body, so it tries to make up for this lack, increasing in volume and with more demanding functioning that gives rise to fatigue and long-term deterioration. The BioVAD tries to increase cardiac contraction, partially compensating for this loss of functionality, allowing better behavior and a reduction in damage to the diseased heart.

 

Cardiovascular disease It is the main cause of death in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that globally it is responsible for the deaths of approximately 18 million people each year in the world, 4 million in Europe.

 

Although mortality is decreasing, it is considered that 49 million people in the European Union alone live with this disease. Among the types of cardiovascular disease, the most common is coronary artery disease or ischemic heart disease.

 

In addition to the Clínica Universidad de Navarra, which leads this project in collaboration with Cima (its research center), 14 more institutions are part of BRAVƎ, including the I3A of the University of Zaragoza, from Spain, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands and Portugal.

 

Likewise, different groups from the Networked Biomedical Research Center (CIBER) of the Carlos III Health Institute collaborate: Manuel Doblaré and Nuria Montserrat from CIBER-BBN, Felipe Prósper from CIBERONC and Francisco Fernández-Avilés from CIBER-CV.