Cardiac fibrillation is a common medical condition where a person's heart does not beat in a regular fashion. In the worst cases it can lead to fatalities. Current treatments involve shocking the heart back into its natural rhythm with electrical impulses, or implanting defibrillator devices that require surgery each time their batteries need replacing. In a recent interview with physicsworld.com, Eberhard Bodenschatz, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, talks about a new medical technique under development that could lead to less invasive treatments for this medical condition
Heartbeats explained
How the heart beats regularly using electrical pulses and what goes wrong with defibrillation
This text will be replaced
Bodenschatz is part of an international team that is developing a technique known as "LEAP", or low-energy anti-fibrillation pacing. Rather than shocking a patient's heart with one large electrical pulse, the technique involves applying several weaker signals that manage to terminate erratic electrical activity in the heart. Bodenschatz has brought his background in spatio-temporal dynamics to the study of the electrical processes in the heart.
Controlling the forest fire
A new approach to regaining synchrony in the heart
This text will be replaced
Bodenschatz and his team have been testing LEAP on animals. He told physicsworld.com that the technique could be ready for medical trials within the next 2–3 years.
Refining the physics
Bodenschatz sets his sights on medical trials
This text will be replaced
Bodenschatz believes that his background in fundamental physics is allowing him to bring a fresh approach to the study of processes in the heart. Naturally, however, there have been challenges along the way, including the need to learn the language of medicine in order to work with medical colleagues.
Language of the heart
Bodenschatz talks of the "enormous richness" he has found in collaborating with medical professionals
This text will be replaced
![[IOP]](http://images.iop.org/cws/icons/themes/phw/colophon-small.png){kind=icon}
1 comment
Comments on this article are now closed.
Fibrillation