Regenerating Heart Tissue with Nanotube Patches

Each year, over 780,000 Americans suffer from a second heart attack as a result of previously damaged cardiac muscle.  Because of this, repairing or regenerating new tissue has been a focus of researchers from a wide array of disciplines. 

Nanotube patch technology is a combination of carbon nanofibers and polymers.  Combined, they are designed to help encourage cell growth.  The technology is based on two concepts.  First, the nano structures are similar in size to a cell, thus allowing for the interaction between the two and limiting the chance for rejection.  Additionally, the patch acts as a scaffold, allowing stem cells or other forms of therapy to be held in place long enough for the tissue to grow.

Lab tests have shown that nerve cells have also responded to the therapy.  It is an important concept considering electrical conductivity is a key function of a cardiac muscle cell.  Early studies have shown that the combination of carbon nanofibers and polymers led to five times as many heart tissue cells growing on the surface than with only the polymer.  Furthermore, the density of cell doubled after just four days.

Early designs allow for the flexible patch to be delivered in the cath lab or with a needle.  This will benefit already compromised patients that would be at risk from a surgical procedure.  Although it may be several years before the nanopatch enters the market, just think of the savings and improved outcomes.  The promise is enormous!

Nano X-ray Tubes: Faster and Cheaper

Evolving nano technology has come a long way in improving a wide range of medical technology.  Scientists have been using nanostructures on the surface of X-ray tubes to improve their efficiency in converting power to radiation, making X-ray tubes faster and longer lasting while delivering better resolution. 

The carbon nano-coating allows the tube to be energized with a fraction of electrical energy and can be turned on and off instantaneously, which results in less heat produced, permitting a smaller, faster device.  The current X-ray tube design has historically not been very efficient in transforming electricity to radiation.  As a result, only 1% of the electrical energy is converted into a usable X-ray and the rest is heat.  Because of this, designs are larger and mechanical shutters are required to help control the radiation from the tube.  This limits the speed in which a tube can be switched on and off.

One prime advantage of increased speed and energy conversion is that multiple X-ray sources can be used simultaneously.  Prototypes using up 25 simultaneous beams produced images of twice the resolution in breast tissue when compared to existing CT technology.  Current nanotube designs also allow the technology to produce a spot size of approximately 80 um.  These improvements allow the technology to focus on breast, lung, and cardiovascular imaging, studies where movement is a major issue.   

I spoke to Dr. Otto Zhou, one of the original thought leaders of the technology, and he said, “The properties of the technology allow the X-ray source to be very efficient in converting energy and to be turned off and on instantly.  Now, we can produce a very clear tomosynthesis image.”

But, it doesn’t stop with improved imaging and longer lasting tubes.  The next step is miniature X-ray tubes, which will really change how we use X-rays.