First fully implantable Micropacemaker to treat fetus with heart blocks

A team of researchers from the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and the University of Southern California (USC) have developed the first fully implantable micropacemaker designed for use in a foetus with complete heart block. It has been designated a Humanitarian Use Device by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Congenital heart block is a defect of the heart's electrical system that originates in the developing fetus, greatly slowing the rate of the heart and impacting its ability to pump blood. "Up until now, the pacemaker devices that have been used in an attempt to treat this condition in a fetus were designed for adults," said Yaniv Bar-Cohen, MD, pediatric cardiologist at CHLA and lead author on the paper. "We have lacked an effective treatment option for fetuses", he added.

"We now have a pacemaker that can be implanted in utero, potentially without harm to the fetus or the mom. This novel device provides a real opportunity to prevent miscarriage and premature birth in babies affected with these abnormalities", said Ramen H. Chmait, MD, Director of the CHLA-USC Institute for Maternal-Fetal Health. "

By using new technology and microfabrication techniques to create biomedical devices, the researchers have developed a micropacemaker that could reside entirely within the fetus. This will allow the fetus to move freely without risk of dislodging the electrodes, said Gerald E. Loeb, MD, professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering at USC.

AW: Lizitha