Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Cardiac Patch for a Broken Heart

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the better-than-a-bandaid dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "People who suffered from heart attacks or other heart failures often need transplants because their hearts are essentially non-functioning. But imagine what would happen if it was possible to engineer living heart tissues to fix these broken hearts? This is what bioengineers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City are starting to make. According to HealthDay News, their patches for broken hearts are made of heart tissue grown in the lab. Right now, animal trials are just starting and it will take at least a decade before human trials begin. But when these living bandages are ready for cardiac care, they'll have the potential to save millions of lives in the world every year."

14 of 147 comments (clear)

  1. My patch by Bob+McCown · · Score: 4, Funny

    I prefer my patch for a broken heart. Glen Morangie.

  2. But will this work... by ciroknight · · Score: 4, Funny

    ..for my broken heart caused by my mean ex-girlfriend leaving me for another man?

    No? Then forget it. Back to alcohol and chocolate for me.

    --
    "Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." G.W.Bush
  3. If it's anything like a MS Windows patch... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    the heart will work again for a little bit, but other major organs that iteract with the heart will cease to function correctly, and the new patch will somehow allow the heart to be more vulnerable to viruses.

  4. Unluckily by DyslexicLegume · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...patches will only be available on the first Tuesday of every month. Any severe heart attacks occuring between these so called "patch days" will have to wait.

  5. Dick Cheney by Mike570 · · Score: 5, Funny

    FINALLY, there's hope for Dick Cheney! Now if only they knew how to grow a brain for Georie.

    1. Re:Dick Cheney by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Why do liberals always seem to attack others' physical disabilities? Cheney has a weak heart, so what? he's a good man who works hard to protect us even with a defect which could kill him from the strain. Bush didn't get the best grades in college, so what? Neither did Einstein. Bush knows who the experts are and he surrounds himself with them in order to protect us from the animals who attacked us on 9/11. Would you forgo protection? Do you want to allow the animals to overrun this country and slit your throat? I didn't think so. I for one am grateful for their help and safety in this wicked world.

  6. I could have sworn... by Impeesa · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...you were supposed to patch before an attack happened. I guess I was wrong.

  7. much better than a... by syrinx · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'll just stick with my lonely heart, thanks. I've heard that owning one of those is much better than owning a broken one.

    --
    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
  8. You saw this coming Re:My patch by CDMA_Demo · · Score: 2, Funny



    Patching is for paranoids, I'd rather check out the bleeding edge release.

  9. For female patients by RandomGuySteve · · Score: 2, Funny

    The patch will be made entirely of chocolate ice cream.
    The male patch will consist of pornography and alcohol.

  10. wow... by andy55 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wow, what a messed up /. story the day ater I found out that my gf has been cheating on me for months (no joke).

    --
    G-Force music visualization
    1. Re:wow... by kadathseeker · · Score: 2, Funny

      Pssh. Please. Was she cheating with a sharp object or something? Don't worry, a little duct tape is all you need to patch that "relationship" back together. Or did the cheating start after you joined /.?

      --
      The 'Net is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it. - William Gibson
  11. try.. by pkplex · · Score: 2, Funny

    atp-get dist-upgrade. Upgrades all the other body parts too.

  12. Great news! Another double Quarter-Pounder, please by koelpien · · Score: 2, Funny

    Great news! Another double Quarter-Pounder, please. Extra cheese and bacon.