Optical Depolarization of Cardiac Tissue via Opsin Expression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current treatments for arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation, are invasive, painful, and have limited efficacy, with catheter-based therapies being destructive and drug therapies being only partially effective, leading to significant healthcare costs and patient discomfort.
Innovation Solution
A vector encoding light-sensitive proteins, such as melanopsin or channel rhodopsin, is introduced into cardiac cells to create an optical depolarization system that uses light to regulate ion channels and treat arrhythmias through non-electrical means, providing a pain-free and potentially more uniform treatment approach.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If catheter-based therapies are used to treat arrhythmias, then treatment efficacy is achieved, but the procedure is destructive, dangerous, and highly variable with significant patient discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/electrical defibrillation system with an optical system. Light-sensitive proteins (opsins) are introduced into cardiac cells, and light delivery devices emit specific wavelengths of light to depolarize these cells, terminating arrhythmias without mechanical intervention or electrical shocks, thus eliminating patient discomfort and procedural dangers
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental mechanism of arrhythmia termination from electrical to optical parameters. By introducing light-sensitive proteins that respond to specific light wavelengths, the system transitions from electrical field-based defibrillation to photostimulation-based depolarization, fundamentally altering how arrhythmias are treated
2Ease of operation
If drug therapy is used to treat arrhythmias, then treatment is non-invasive, but efficacy is limited to approximately 60% and sometimes produces proarrhythmic effects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces chemical drug therapy with an optical system. Instead of using medications that chemically modify ion channels and carry risks of proarrhythmia, the system uses light-sensitive proteins that directly respond to light stimulation, providing a more reliable and safer non-invasive treatment approach
3Reliability
If electrical defibrillation is used to treat arrhythmias, then arrhythmias can be terminated, but the procedure is painful and impacts patient acceptance of implantable cardiac devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes electrical shocks with optical stimulation. Light-sensitive proteins in cardiac cells respond to specific wavelengths of light by opening ion channels and depolarizing cells, terminating arrhythmias without the painful electrical shock, thereby improving patient acceptance of cardiac treatments
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The optical depolarization system effectively prevents or treats arrhythmias by using light to depolarize cardiac cells, offering a more uniform and pain-free alternative to existing treatments, potentially reducing healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes.
Implementation Method 1
opsins are photosensitive proteins that activate G-protein signaling cascades which regulate ion channel opening
Implementation Method 2
Expression of photosensitive proteins, e.g., a channel rhodopsin, bacterial rhodopsin, or a variant protein forming a light sensitive channel, from vectors in cells such as cardiac cells, allows for light induced depolarization of tissue having those genetically altered (modified) cells
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a cardiac rhythm management system for stimulating a heart having photosensitive tissue, vectors useful to photosensitize cells expressing the vectors, and methods for light induced depolarization of cells.