Heart on a Chip

UC Berkeley researchers, led by bioengineering professor Kevin Healy, have been able to test heart drugs on human cardiac muscle cells housed in an inch-long silicone device. The video shows cardiac muscle cells before and after exposure to isoproterenol, a drug used to treat certain heart ailments, including bradycardia (slow heart rate). It’s clear that the cells beat faster after 30 minutes of exposure to isoproterenol. The study’s lead author is Anurag Mathur. The project is funded through the Tissue C