HBCx

In the Netherlands, there are 250,000 patients with heart failure. Half of these patients die within five years. The best treatment: a donor heart. But: there is a great shortage of these. The Holland Hybrid Heart consortium is therefore working on an alternative: a robot heart, made of soft materials. The research We envision the treatment of patients with heart failure (HF) in such a way that the survival and quality of life of HF patients drastically increases. We aim to achieve this by developing a unique bioinspired total artificial heart that integrates soft robotics and tissue engineering (TE). In the long term, we foresee that this pioneering technology allows us to develop and bring to the clinic a full set of artificial motile organs and tissues that seamlessly integrate with the human body. This will be possible as the novel and exciting technologies underlying the artificial heart developed in this project - soft robotics and in situ TE - can be used to generate a broad range of artificial motile organs such as muscle structures (e.g., limbs), bowels or lungs: The motility and flexibility in shape and size of soft robots make them suitable for mimicking motile organs. Actuators can be embedded within the elastomeric matrix of these robots without compromising their malleable properties. In addition, embodied intelligence provides direct feedback on shape and force, enabling natural behaviour. Biocompatibility of these artificial organs is provided by TE inside the body (in situ) using biodegradable coatings or scaffolds. Such TE scaffolds are cell-free synthetic bio-resorbable implants or linings that can recruit or interact with cells from the bloodstream, leading to gradual replacement of the scaffold by fully endogenous, and thus biocompatible, tissue. Importantly, the cell-free and thus off-the-shelf availability of these scaffolds avoids the high costs and complex logistics inherent to pre-implantation in vitro TE. The Holland Hybrid Heart (HHH) consortium will push the development of these newly emerging technologies forward and combines soft robotics and in situ TE to generate the first biocompatible, soft actuated heart. This project will deliver Proof-of-Principle for full in vivo cardiac functionality of the artificial HHH in large animals. If successful, the HHH will be available for translation to the clinic as an effective treatment for advanced HF in patients and a valid alternative for moderately effective current HF therapies. This is a quantum leap forward in the treatment of HF. Origin A photo in the newspaper inspired Rotterdam heart specialist Jolanda Kluin to develop a robot heart. Kluin immediately contacted the interviewee in the article, Bas Overvelde, head of the Soft Robotic Matter group at Amolf, which develops soft robots. Could he perhaps also make a heart using soft robot techniques? Overvelde believed in it and a collaboration was born. Five years ago, they received a European subsidy of more than 3 million euros. This grant started the previous EU consortium, the EU Hybrid Heart. Last December (2023), Kluin received another 11 million euros from the Dutch government to continue the Holland hybrid heart project. The Holland Hybrid Heart has pivoted to meet the demands of that new grant and now only contains 15 Dutch consortium partners. The consortium is funded by NWA-ORC and the Dutch Heart Foundation. In-kind contributions are also provided by the DCVA, the Dutch Heart Foundation, TrailBlazers, SBMC, EVOS and EE-Labels. The executing academic partners are Erasmus MC, Amolf, TU Eindhoven, University of Twente, TU Delft and Saxion Applied University. This research is driven by patient needs and the Harteraad and Stichting Pulmonale Hypertensie will provide the connections to these patients.

The focus of this project is to develop a novel home-based exergaming system aimed at enhancing resistance to falls among individuals post-stroke. Preventing falls and fall-related injuries, minimizes healthcare utilization and societal costs and supports stroke survivors in maintaining independence in daily life. The Research The HEROES system is designed to target balance perturbations and improve stepping responses. It utilizes action observation and motor imagery techniques to personalize training for individuals with stroke. Stroke survivors will undergo a single training session in a rehabilitation center to practice recovering from real balance perturbations before using HEROES at home. The effectiveness of the HEROES-system will be assessed through a proof-of-principle randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 60 stroke survivors, evaluating its impact on fall resistance and balance enhancement post-stroke. The approach of involving stroke survivors sets HEROES clearly apart from the currently available home-based exergames, which uses ‘healthy’ people and lack the required personalization of different post-stroke individuals. Origin This project is funded within the Innovative Medical Devices Initiative (IMDI) program 'Heart for Sustainable Care'. The focus of this program is the development of medical technology for the earlier detection, monitoring, and better treatment of cardiovascular diseases to ensure accessible healthcare and sufficient staffing. The program has been developed en funded by the Dutch Heart Foundation, ZonMw and NWO, who collaborate within the Dutch CardioVascular Alliance.