Following a heart attack, blood flow to the heart is interrupted and the resulting lack of oxygen can cause heart damage. The heart wall can rupture in severe cases, requiring immediate surgical intervention. Today, bovine pericardial patches are used to repair such heart defects due to their stability, permeability and ease of implantation.

An interdisciplinary research team from ETH Zurich and the University Hospital of Zurich, led by Professor Robert Katzschmann and Professor Omer Dzemali, have developed a novel 3-D heart patch for intraventricular implantation. The team has just presented their study in the journal Advanced Materials.