Scientists at the University of Leicester are 'painting' the colours of the heart in an innovative project that has potential to bring benefits for millions of people with irregular heart rhythm.
An estimated 4.5 million people in the European Union are known to have Atrial fibrillation (AF) - the most common type of arrhythmia or abnormal heart rhythm. The condition affects about 10% of people over the age of 70. Considering the advancing age in the general population and links to body size and obesity, scientists say the increase in AF is almost approaching epidemic proportions.
Researchers from the Department of Engineering at the University of Leicester are working with colleagues in the University's Department of Cardiovascular Sciences and St Jude Medical UK to devise a new way of 'mapping' the electrical signals of the heart and creating a colour map of abnormal signals. This will allow cardiologists to target them with unprecedented accuracy.
University of Leicester scientists Dr. André Ng (Cardiovascular Sciences) and Dr. Fernando Schlindwein (Engineering) were recently awarded a CASE (Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering) studentship, in excess of £63,000, to pursue research on the diagnostic and treatment of atrial arrhythmias by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Additionally, Dr Schlindwein has also been awarded an industry secondment by the Royal Academy of Engineering, worth £15,000, for the same collaborative research involving St. Jude Medical U.K. and Departments of Cardiovascular Sciences and Engineering at the University of Leicester.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of arrhythmia or abnormal heart rhythm. The condition involves the left and right atrial chambers of the heart and is characterised by quivering or 'fibrillating' of heart muscles, instead of the usual coordinated contraction.
AF is currently treated using strategies that either slow the heart rate or revert heart rhythm to normal. Surgical and catheter-based therapies are also used in certain individuals, but these procedures pose a certain amount of risk to the patient.
Dr. Schlindwein says, "A catheter is a very thin tube that is inserted in the patient's femoral vein (usually) and guided into the patient's heart, wherein it can record from or deliver electrical signals to the heart. The ablation catheter delivers high-energy radiofrequency waves to 'burn' and kill the cells that are responsible for the heart rhythm disturbance once identified".