(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists from New Zealand have created a pacemaker that adjusts to the respiratory rhythm. The device has already been tested on animals and is planned to be tested on volunteers this year.
Researchers have tested the device on sheep and now plan to move on to human trials
Modern pacemakers are not able to perfectly mimic the uneven rhythm of a naturally healthy human heart.
“If you analyze your heart rate, you will find that your heart rate is related to your breathing. It rises on inhalation and falls on exhalation, and this is a natural phenomenon for all animals and people. And we are talking about very ancient animals that lived on the planet 430 million years ago ,” the researchers explain.
In a new study published in Basic Research in Cardiology , scientists describe a bionic pacemaker that adjusts heart rate by monitoring the lungs and detecting electrical signals generated by the body when breathing.
The first trials on rats were successful, so the researchers switched to sheep. Some animals were given conventional pacemakers, while others received pacemakers that adjust to breathing. There were also a control group of sheep without any pacemakers. All animals suffered from heart failure.
The results showed that pacemakers that matched breathing increased cardiac output by 20% compared to conventional pacemakers.
“This discovery could revolutionize the way we pace patients with heart failure in the future,” the scientists write.
Now they are planning to do human testing and have already begun recruiting volunteers from New Zealand to participate in the trials.
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