Lab unveils 'heart-on-a-chip'
May 12, 2017
Lawrence Livermore unveils 'heart-on-a-chip' Through “heart-on-a-chip” technology — modeling a human heart on an engineered chip and measuring the effects of compound exposure using microelectrodes — Lawrence Livermore researchers hope to ensure potentially lifesaving new drugs are …more
Prescription drugs have enabled millions of Americans with chronic medical conditions to live longer and more fulfilling lives, but many promising new drugs never make it to the human trials stage due to the potential for cardiac toxicity.
Through "heart-on-a-chip" technology—modeling a human heart on an engineered chip and measuring the effects of compound exposure on functions of heart tissue using microelectrodes—Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers hope to decrease the time needed for new drug trials and ensure potentially lifesaving drugs are safe and effective while reducing the need for human and animal testing. The research is part of the Lab's iCHIP (in-vitro Chip-Based Human Investigational Platform) project, which replicates human systems on engineered platforms to test the effects of toxic chemical and biological compounds.
Read more at:
https://phys.org/news/2017-05-lab-unveils-heart-on-a-chip.html#jCp
