A non-electrical cardioversion therapy, which could be the first shockless procedure to treat atrial fibrillation (AF), has been demonstrated at the [b]Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology 2014[/b], reports [s]Medical Daily[/s]. The defibrillation method that study author Dr Brian Bingen and his team have developed is uses optogenetics to genetically insert depolarising ion channels into the heart that can be activated by light. Bingen said, ‘The theory was that we could depolarise the entire myocardium without needing a shock. In theory, the patient could be given an implantable device with a mesh of light emitting diodes and when AF occurs you turn the light on and the AF stops.’
[link url=http://www.medicaldaily.com/atrial-fibrillation-can-now-be-treated-painlessly-optogenetics-291470]Full Medical Daily report[/link]
[link url=http://www.escardio.org/about/press/press-releases/pr-14/Pages/first-evidence-painless-atrial-fibrillation-treatment.aspx?hit=dontmiss]ESC press release[/link]