Irish researchers develop new model to help treat heart failure

15 Aug 2022

Dr Aamir Hameed. Image: Patrick Bolger/RCSI

Developed at RCSI, the new ‘mock circulatory loop’ model can mimic both a healthy heart and a heart in failure to help device testing.

Researchers in Ireland have reached a “milestone” in heart health research, developing a new lab-based model to test devices that treat patients with an increasingly common form of heart failure.

There are two common types of heart failure in humans: one with preserved ejection fraction and the other with reduced ejection fraction. Ejection fraction is the measurement used to determine the heart’s ability to pump oxygen-rich blood through the body.

In recent years, heart failure with preserved or normal ejection fraction has become more common among patients, likely due to an increase in the prevalence of common risk factors such as old age, high blood pressure and obesity. Women are also at greater risk of it than men.

Developed at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in collaboration with the National College of Art and Design, the new ‘mock circulatory loop’ model mimics both a healthy heart and a heart in failure with preserved ejection fraction.

A silicone heart chamber inside a transparent plastic container with arrows showing where the blood and air flow in and out through.

Render of the silicone heart chamber inside a rigid plastic container, used to simulate contractions of the heart: Image: RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

The model enables potential heart failure treatment devices to be examined in terms of their effect on both chambers in the left side of the heart.

It can test devices to examine the left atrium, the top chamber responsible for receiving oxygen-rich blood from the lungs, as well as the left ventricle, the lower chamber responsible for pumping the oxygen-rich blood around the body.

The research was published in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine last month.

‘Milestone in heart failure research’

RCSI’s Dr Aamir Hameed, senior author of the study, said that half of patients presenting with heart failure have the form linked with preserved of normal ejection fraction – with the numbers increasing in the developed world due to an increase in risk factors.

“The condition can be difficult to treat with medicines and is causing a considerable burden to health services throughout the world,” said Hameed, who is a lecturer in the Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine at RCSI and co-founder of spin-out company Pumpinheart.

“The development of this lab-based model is a milestone in heart failure research as it enables devices to be tested that have the potential to treat a condition that affects millions of people around the world, improving their quality of life and reducing the burden on health services.”

Dr Andrew Malone, first author of the study, added that this was the first lab model that features two independently controlled cardiac chambers to fully simulate the blood flow of the left atrium and the left ventricle during the resting phase of the cardiac cycle.

“This is a key step forward in the development of a robust means of testing heart failure device treatments,” he said.

The research was funded by Enterprise Ireland, which is supporting the development of medtech start-up Pumpinheart. The RCSI spin-out will be commercialising a novel medical device for the treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

“We are looking forward to utilising this exciting new model through our spin-out Pumpinheart, which has the potential to develop our research into a real-world treatment for patients who otherwise may have limited treatment options,” Hameed said.

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Vish Gain is a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com