An Integrated Platform for Cardiac Toxicology and Efficacy

Purpose and goal:

Within INTEC, we aim to develop an integrated platform, combining a microfluidic flow probe with cardiac high-content contractility systems for single cell investigations. This platform will enhance our understanding of cardiac cell behavior and functionality, through advanced cardiac cell monitoring techniques, localized solution delivery, and automated imaging systems..

This integrated approach will optimize tissue usage and advance cardiac toxicology and efficacy assessments, leading to more precise evaluations of potential new therapies. Expected results and effects:

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality but there is a lack of predictive, human disease models in drug development. A robust cardiac research platform for efficacy and toxicity screening, is therefore imperative to meet the demand for precise and predictive tools in drug development. The main outcome of this project is an integrated system, comprising hardware and software components, that will empower researchers to gain a deeper understanding of cardiac cell behavior and functionality. This can pave the way for the discovery of novel or improved therapies.

Approach and implementation:

INTEC will establish a pre-release prototype of the integrated interrogation platform for cardiac cell analysis. The project will include manufacturing and assembly of a first prototype followed by initial testing, validation and optimization of the functionality. This will be followed by construction of two early-generation release versions of the platform that will be deployed at two KOL sites for early adopter testing.

The project will also include extensive documentation on the combined system, in preparation for CE assignment.