Objective
Background: To bypass hardware-related complication there have been substantial efforts to create biological pacemakers. Effective strategies have been identified and are now being refined for delivery of long-term function and clinical application. Yet, currently developed biological pacemakers only provide pacing to atrium or ventricle thereby aiming at ~20% of pacemaker patients. To unleash the full potential of biological pacing, targeting virtually every pacemaker patient, effective repair of atrio-ventricular (AV) conduction is crucial. With the arrival of advanced stem cell-based therapies, now is the time to meet this important challenge.
Objective: To develop a stem cell-based therapy that restores impulse formation and conduction at the interface between atrium and ventricle.
Approach: Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) will be used to produce cells with hallmark features of AV nodal cells. After in vitro testing, these cells will be implanted in vivo (together with biomaterials) to form AV bypass tracts in sheep that are in permanent AV block. In this setting, approaches will be tested for their ability to bridge electrical activity from the atrium to ventricle and protect the ventricle from atrial tachycardia. The final steps of this project focuses on the development of dedicated implantation catheters (in collaboration with Medtronic) and optimization of cellular constructs that are regulatory compliant and ready for clinical testing.
Impact: By developing novel therapies to re-establish AV impulse formation and conduction I will broaden the application area of biological pacing to nearly all patients. In Europe ~300.000 pacemakers are implanted annually representing cots of ~8 billion Euros. Five per cent of these implantations result in serious complications requiring re-implantation or other invasive treatments. Biological pacemakers are expected to reduce these complications, improve quality of life, and reduce healthcare costs.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine cardiology cardiovascular diseases cardiac arrhythmia
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology biomaterials
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2016-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1105AZ Amsterdam
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.