UV Power

Scientists from Boston have come up with a specialised catheter for fixing holes in heart with the help of a biodegradable adhesive and patch. The catheter uses ultra violet light for its operations.

The UV powered catheter eliminates the need for risky open heart surgery and might be useful for fixing stomach ulcers and abdominal hernias. Pedro delNido said, “This method also avoids suturing into the heart tissue, because we're just gluing something to it”. Catheterisations can be used in place of open heart surgery because surgeons need not stop the heart and put the patient on bypass which is the case otherwise. The catheter can be used to place a patch in a beating heart.

The technique involves inserting the catheter through a vein in the neck or groin and directing it to the defective area in the heart. When the catheter is in position, the surgeon inflates two balloons on either side of the hole. He then deploys the patch and turns on the UV light which causes the biodegradable patch to harden and form a tight seal. In the meanwhile, pressure from the two balloons secures the patch in its position. The balloons are finally deflated and the catheter is withdrawn leaving behind the adhesive and patch. Over time they dissolve in the body and normal tissue growth resumes.