As part of The Heart Beat series of interviews with Dr. Mehdi Razavi and his team, recent graduate of the Rice University Global Medical Innovations Program, Kunal Shah, MBE, shares details about an entirely new way of treating cardiac arrhythmias and preventing sudden cardiac death.

The research underway in the THI’s Electrophysiology Clinical Research and Innovations (EPCRI) Lab, in partnership with The University of Texas at Austin’s Dr. Elizabeth Cosgriff-Hernandez, is testing the ability of hydrogel electrodes to deliver pulses of electricity to the heart. This paradigm-shifting work caught the attention of Science writer Robert F. Service at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Diego.

The novel solution, described simply as “liquid wires,” aims to facilitate painless shocks to failing hearts. The goal is to improve the quality of life for patients living with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs).

The new therapy in development at the Texas Heart Institute works by injecting a fluid hydrogel solution into a patient’s cardiac vein. Researchers say this method transforms the vein into a flexible hydrogel electrode and captures more heart tissue than current electrotherapies can touch.

In our next episode, we’ll explore how engineers from Dr. Razavi’s lab are developing a unique catheter-based system suitable to deliver this hydrogel therapy.

In our next episode, we’ll explore how engineers from Dr. Razavi’s lab are developing a unique catheter-based system suitable to deliver this hydrogel therapy.