Engineers have developed a robotic copy of the heart’s right ventricle that mimics the beating and pumping of blood in a living heart. The device can be used to study disorders of the right ventricle and to test devices and treatments designed to treat these disorders.
The robo-ventricle combines real heart tissue with synthetic balloon-like artificial muscles that allow researchers to control the contractions of the ventricle while monitoring the functioning of its natural valves and other complex structures.
The artificial ventricle can be tuned to mimic healthy and diseased conditions. The team manipulated the model to simulate conditions of right ventricular dysfunction, including pulmonary hypertension and myocardial infarction. They also used the model to test cardiac devices. For example, the team implanted a mechanical valve to repair a naturally defective valve, then observed how ventricular pumping changed in response.
According to the researchers, the new robot can be used as a realistic platform to study disorders of the right ventricle and to test devices and treatments for these disorders.
Source: Science Daily
