The Mayo Clinic in the United States has collaborated with scientists from the University of Nebraska Medical Center to develop a stem cell patch that can repair damaged hearts without the need for open chest surgery. The design concept of this patch embodies the deep collaboration between engineering and biology, making complex cardiac tissue repair simple and controllable, and opening up a new path for the treatment of heart failure. The relevant results were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Biomaterials. This technology utilizes heart tissue cultivated through reprogramming of adult stem cells, which can be implanted into the body through a small incision. Preclinical trials have shown that this stem cell patch can effectively restore cardiac function and improve treatment efficacy. The team stated that patients with severe heart failure currently have limited options other than mechanical pumps or transplantation, and the latest results are expected to provide a safer new therapy. Heart attack is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. For many years, scientists have been dedicated to replacing damaged tissue with healthy heart muscle cells derived from stem cells. Although early research has shown potential, it requires open chest surgery, which poses a high risk for most critically ill patients. Scientists reprogram adult cells such as skin or blood cells into induced pluripotent stem cells, which are then cultivated into substitute heart cells. But how to safely and efficiently deliver such engineered heart tissue remains a major challenge. To this end, the team has developed a flexible ultra-thin patch, which is based on a nano micron fiber hybrid scaffold coated with gelatin. It can support human cardiomyocytes, vascular cells, and fibroblasts, and jointly construct heart tissue with vitality and autonomous pulsation. Before transplantation, these tissues will be injected with bioactive ingredients such as fibroblast growth factor to promote angiogenesis and increase cell survival rate. The team revealed that the ingenuity of this design lies in the fact that the patch can be folded like paper, incorporated into a thin catheter, and accurately delivered to the target area of the heart through a small incision in the chest. Once in place, it automatically unfolds and tightly adheres to the heart wall. A biocompatible surgical adhesive can firmly fix it while minimizing damage to surrounding tissues. Pre clinical model validation shows that compared to traditional methods, this minimally invasive implantation significantly improves cardiac function, reduces scar formation, promotes vascular growth, alleviates inflammatory reactions, and stimulates cardiac self repair. The greatest significance of this stem cell patch is not only to avoid high-risk open chest surgery, but also to cleverly integrate regenerative medicine with minimally invasive intervention, breaking through the delivery problem of stem cell therapy and redefining the "minimally invasive" standard of heart repair. If this technology can be applied on a large scale, it is expected to significantly reduce the hospitalization rate and medical burden of heart failure patients, and have a profound impact on the global cardiovascular health landscape. In the long run, if the subsequent clinical trials are smoothly promoted, it may provide a replicable technological path for the regeneration therapy of other organs, thereby accelerating the clinical translation of the entire field of regenerative medicine. (New Society)