Boston scientists have invented an effective and latest method to mend critical holes in hearts and in other organs of patients. The novel technique uses an ultraviolet–light-enabled catheter that perfectly patches holes with the use of a plug made of biodegradable, light-sensitive adhesive, which is applied in place of the invasive surgery that has many risks. The new device may provide sensitive value to the need of patching up stomach ulcers and abdominal hernias as for holes in hearts as well.
Conor Walsh, a Wyss Institute Core Faculty member and assistant professor at Harvard University’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS),co-author of the document that unfolded the research work expressed in an email sent to The Huffington Post added that in the current period where the repair work of wounds and holes were done in the body, it was customary to create a secondary , but bigger hole , which had to be created through incision to provide surgeons the access to the critical area for suturing. He further added that with the help of the novel device, a tissue patch was delivered and followed to the part of the body in a minimally invasive way, which was either through the original wound opening or through another minor incision depending on the site of the body. He continued to explain that the process could be completed within minutes, which to the researcher was the main aim and conviction and could revolutionize the entire wound repair technology in times to come.
The device is inserted into the body through a vein to reach the hole in the heart or wherever it is needed to repair the wound. The technique helps position the patch just at the right spot when two balloon-like chambers are placed on either side of the hole and inflated to retain the correct placement of the patch. The UV light emitting catheter starts working to cause the biodegradable patch to solidify forming a tight set-up with body tissues.