Impaired electrical conductivity in the heart is the main cause of prevalent heart diseases such as arrhythmias and bundle branch blocks. Cardiac arrhythmias, also known as an irregular beating of the heart, can result in syncope, heart failure, thromboembolic events, such as stroke, and even death. There are currently no therapies that directly address repair of the damaged conductive pathways in the heart in a way that promotes regeneration of damaged tissue without the burden of implanting medical devices. The two most common cardiac diseases with impaired electrical conductivity are left bundle branch block (LBBB, blocks in the conducting pathways to the ventricles) and atrial fibrillation (AF, blocks in the conduction system in the atria).
The aim of the NanoBeat project is to develop a nanomaterial-based solution to repair defective electrical conduction pathways in the heart. It consists of a conductive material implanted in the affected cardiac tissue using a specialised minimally invasive catheter. The material supports restoration of the tissue conductivity and electromechanical myocardial function. The catheter aims to enable an accurate implantation in the cardiac conduction system located in the septum of the heart for treating LBBB, or in the atria for treating AF.
