Collaboration on Cardiac Stem Cell Research

An agreement to collaborate on stem cell research aimed at naturally replacing diseased and damaged heart tissue and thus reducing or eliminating the need for artificial devices and heart transplants has been signed by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (Haifa, Israel) and the Cleveland Clinic (Ohio, USA). The two institutions will jointly develop and use stem cell technology to regenerate heart tissue and explore other medical advances, including robotics.

Research has shown that under the correct conditions the body's own stem cells can be made to travel to the heart and differentiate into blood vessels. Goals of the joint project are to ensure correct recruitment of stem cells from the bone marrow and to optimize the conditions for differentiation into cardiac myocytes. The collaborators will also work on a number of other projects. These include designing an artificial cartilage that mimics true cartilage when implanted, developing an ultrasound-based method to help patients with congestive heart failure by determining where to attach lead lines for devices, developing a miniature robotic device with a camera to give orthopedic surgeons a better view of damaged areas, and finding new ways to use robotic technology in implanting lumbar screws during back surgery.

"Everyone is very excited,” said Christopher Coburn, head of the Cleveland Clinic's technology commercialization division and a member of the steering committee overseeing the collaboration. "These initial projects were selected because of the potential early-term clinical applications.”




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