Bloomberg – The Glue That Could Literally Fix a Broken Heart

Courtesy Robert M Hunt, Wikimedia
The Scientist – Stem Cells Phone Home
February 26, 2015
Yu Han Nanoparticle Glue
MIT Tech Review – Tiny Glue Guns to Patch Surgical Holes
August 5, 2015

Bloomberg – The Glue That Could Literally Fix a Broken Heart

Bloomberg - Cardiac Adhesive

<div id=”fb-root”></div><script>(function(d, s, id) {  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;  js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3″;  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));</script><div class=”fb-video” data-allowfullscreen=”true” data-href=”https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153189392166880&amp;set=vb.266790296879&amp;type=1″><div class=”fb-xfbml-parse-ignore”><blockquote cite=”https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153189392166880&amp;set=vb.266790296879&amp;type=1″><a href=”https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153189392166880&amp;set=vb.266790296879&amp;type=1″></a><p>This super-adhesive glue could literally fix a broken heart: http://bloom.bg/1F9y5l5</p>Posted by <a href=”https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153189392166880&amp;set=vb.266790296879&amp;type=1″>Bloomberg Business</a> on Monday, March 30, 2015</blockquote></div></div>

“Hurricane of blood” sounds like a missing album from thrash-metal band Slayer, but it’s actually how medical researcher Maria Pereira describes the interior of the human heart. The constant movement of muscles and flow of blood makes for a high-stress environment where conventional surgical tools—such as staples and stitches—create as many complications as they do solutions.

Pereira and her colleagues at Gecko Biomedical think they have something better for this hostile environment—a surgical glue that could patch holes and join blood vessels far better than today’s alternatives. When used in the body, the glue binds with tissue to make a strong—but flexible—bond. Over time, the glue safely degrades while the body’s own tissue grows in its place, creating a permanent, natural fix.

Since the glue can be applied with syringe, many open-heart procedures could become minimally invasive, cutting down on the risk of infection and radically reducing recovery times. Human trials are expected next year. If successful, what used to require chest splitters and bone saws may, in some cases, be replaced by a small scalpel and a tube of glue.

Bloomberg’s profile of Gecko Biomedical is the latest installment of The Spark, which looks at innovators finding solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems.

1 Comment

  1. […] nesse problema, pesquisadores do MIT Karp Lab, em parceria com uma equipe de pesquisadores da Gecko Biomedical, desenvolveu um poderoso gel […]

Leave a Reply