NASA finds new Super Plastic is great for weak hearts

William Atkins
Thursday, 07 May 2009 05:30

Science - Health

The NASA article states, “It [CRT] is a chronic and progressive condition that affects more than five million Americans and more than 22 million individuals worldwide. Cardiac resynchronization therapy, or CRT, is designed to coordinate the contraction of the heart's two lower chambers and improve the heart's efficiency to increase blood flow to the body.”

As such, devices that can help patients with heart failure are extremely important. CRT devices, such as the ones manufactured by Medtronic, are the size of a stopwatch.

They are implanted into the chest and then connected to the heart by leads (which deliver energy through electrical impulses from a CRT to the heart muscle), such as the Attain Ability left-heart lead.

Additional energy to the heart helps it to stabilize its beating, along with improving the flow of blood that is sends throughout the human body.

In fact, the Medtronic article states, “Attain Ability has the thinnest lead body of any left-heart lead currently available, providing physicians with a tool to deliver therapy directly to hard-to-reach areas of the heart. Attain Ability incorporates insulation material developed by NASA Langley Research Center that was previously evaluated for space applications, high-performance engines and harsh environments. This application marks the first time a NASA-developed material has been used in this kind of implantable medical device.”

U.S. and Canadian studies have shown that the Attain Ability left-heart lead is able to implanted into the heart in almost all cases—that is, 96.4% of the time. [NASA]

Bryant states, “Langley Research Center's Soluble Imide is an excellent example of how taxpayer investment in NASA materials research has resulted in a direct benefit beyond the aerospace sector by extending the quality of life through medical technology.”

For more information on the NASA spun-off material Soluble Imide, check out NASA’s Ask Magazine and its article “Featured Invention: Langley Soluble Imide.”