A startup co-founded by Texas Engineer Elizabeth Cosgriff-Hernández is one step closer to bringing a new medical device to cardiac clinicians and patients worldwide.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently granted Breakthrough Device Designation to Rhythio Medical’s injectable hydrogel electrode technology, a minimally invasive approach to managing heart arrhythmias. The designation aims to fast-track development and review of medical devices with the potential to improve treatment of life-threatening conditions.
Rhythio’s hydrogel-based technology can be delivered through a catheter to the heart, forming a stable electrical interface that integrates seamlessly with existing implantable cardioverter defibrillators and pacemakers. It aims to transform current cardiac rhythm management with a patient-forward approach to correct abnormal heart rhythms.
“The ability to transform a cardiac vein into a flexible hydrogel electrode enables electrical stimulation with a depth and precision far beyond current pacing technologies, directly targeting the source of electrical dysfunction in the heart,” said Cosgriff-Hernández, a professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and co-founder of Rhythio Medical with Texas Heart Institute Director of Electrophysiology Clinical Research Mehdi Razavi. “Achieving this required the design of a hydrogel electrode with an unprecedented combination of conductivity, safety, durability, and minimally invasive delivery. This breakthrough establishes a new paradigm for bioelectronic therapies that merge advanced materials with cardiac rhythm management.”
Defibrillation today relies on metal electrodes to deliver electric shocks to patients that Rhythio leaders say can be traumatic and painful, so much so that it sometimes causes them to avoid treatments. The injectable hydrogel electrodes convert conventional high-voltage shocks into gentle, patient-friendly therapies.
Houston-based Rhythio Medical is advancing preclinical development of its injectable hydrogel electrode in collaboration with leading academic and clinical partners. Cosgriff-Hernandez and several of her colleagues at Rhythio Medical authored a study in Nature last year to evaluate the potential of injectable electrode technologies.