CardioEpiX

Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death worldwide and account for 13.7% of total healthcare expenditure in Germany. New treatment methods are reducing mortality, but the number of cases and treatment costs continue to rise. Of the number of cases of heart disease, almost 25% fall into the category of cardiac arrhythmias, the most common being atrial fibrillation (AF). Atrial fibrillation is a leading cause of stroke, heart attack and heart failure, which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. In order to address the global extent of AF and sustainably relieve the burden on society and health systems, it is necessary to develop new tools that meet the requirements for differentiated early detection, precise classification and therapy development. This is exactly where the planned CardioEpiX project comes into play and offers a solution for precise patient- and clinical picture-differentiated in-vitro diagnostics of various forms of atrial fibrillation. The basis for this is patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS)-derived cardiomyocytes (Ps-iPS-CM) in a novel multiparametric electrophysiological measurement system. A tool is being created that, for the first time, enables early, differentiated and precise detection of even asymptomatic processes Based on patient-specific cells, this lays the foundation for preventative measures and, if necessary, targeted therapy. The same system also meets the requirements of pharmacological drug development. The development covers the entire chain from research into the mechanisms of action and development of specific active ingredients, through safety pharmacological tests and phenotype-based risk assessments to precise, differentiated diagnostics and model-based therapy planning. In this way, we will make a significant and lasting contribution to curbing the socio-economic consequences of AF and cardiovascular diseases in general.

While our project partners focus on

• Representation of clinically relevant, different forms of atrial fibrillation using in-vitro phenotyping of Ps-iPS-CM as well as effectiveness and risk stratification of drugs using AF models (Technical University Dresden) and the

• Development of nano-/micro-surface-structured UltraHighDense microelectrode arrays with integration of environmental control sensors and integration of field stimulation / optimization of the stimulation electrodes (University of Leipzig)

Sciospec is developing a stand-alone measuring system including incubation and economical process for sensor production as well as software-supported data evaluation.

Wide Range of electrophysiological techniques

• complex electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)
• electrophysiological (cell) potential measurements (EFP)
• electrical impedance tomography (EIT)
• complex electrical stimulation
• temperature measurements
• additional control and sensing options