Medical science and surgery field is gaining improvements along with
the pacing time. Scientists are working relentlessly, carrying out research and
conducting surveys to come up with new ideas, improvements in existing devices
and new medical devices. Since, a large section of men and women suffer with
cardiovascular and heart related diseases, scientists are keen to make much
needed advancements in cardiology treatment field. In this blog, I am
discussing about four major advancements which will open new ways to treat
heart and cardiovascular diseases.
Blood test that can diagnose heart disease more accurately
As per Prevencio publication, a new test known as Hart CAD test can
accurately diagnose heart disease in only two hours. The test was conducted on
more than 900 subjects and 90% of the time this test was able to detect the
presence of coronary obstruction. Much cheaper than cardiac computer tomography
angiogram or cardiac catheterization, this test is proved to be more effective
than electrocardiogram or nuclear stress testing. While this test is not yet
available for medical professionals, it is aimed to make this test as a
standardized lab test as soon as possible.
3D Beating heart tissue that is proving beneficial for drug therapy
researchers
The scientists of York University have created 3D beating heart tissue
from three kinds of cardiac cells. They created tissue that beats harmoniously.
Unlike other 2D and 3D tissues, this tissue doesn’t need scaffolding for the
cells to be able to attach and grow. According to scientists, this development
could help in improving cardiology treatment options and understanding
cardiac health.
Implantable cardioverter defibrillators can do more harm than good
According to researchers of Stanford University School of Medicine,
ICD devices give unnecessary shocks if the system malfunctions. In the
conducted survey in which 963 patients were picked who had received more than
one ICD shock, it was noticed that over one third of the shocks were not
needed. For example, sometimes electrical noise caused by broken wire appears
as irregular heartbeat. Since, cost of ICD is very high, therefore
reprogramming in ICDs is required to avoid unnecessary shocks. This will result
in tremendous reduction in healthcare cost.
Introduction of Robotic heart sleeve
Now, to aid the beating of failing heart, a customizable robotic heart
sleeve has been introduced. This robotic heart sleeve has many advantages over
other heart assisting devices. It never comes in contact with the blood and
thus, it reduces the risk of blood clotting. However, the demonstration of this
sleeve has been performed to support function in pig hearts and more research
is needed to try this soft robot in humans.
Other advancements are also being made in cardiology treatment,
cardiac devices and related diagnostics. Scientists are doing more extensive
research and improvements so that they can be deployed in current cardiology
treatment and diagnostics.
