Scientists at the Meshalkin National Medical Research Center in Novosibirsk have developed a new non-invasive method for treating arrhythmia using targeted ionizing radiation. This method is intended for patients who are contraindicated for surgery, including cancer patients and people with obesity and concomitant diseases.
According to Alexander Romanov, Deputy General Director of the Center for Science, the traditional method of treating arrhythmia involves inserting catheters into the heart to eliminate the source of the arrhythmia. However, cancer patients have a high risk of arrhythmia, which increases mortality by 3.5 times. The new method, called non-invasive radioablation of arrhythmias, uses targeted radiation to precisely affect areas of the heart, eliminating arrhythmia without the need for invasive procedures.
Preclinical trials are already being conducted on animals. During experiments on rabbits and mini-pigs, scientists determined the optimal radiation dosages and are refining the technology of exposure to the heart using computed tomography for precise guidance of the ionizing radiation beam. The beam width is currently 9-10 mm, but it is planned to reduce it to 3 mm to improve accuracy.
The technique may be ready for clinical trials in three years and will be especially useful for those patients for whom surgery is not possible.
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