• The partner of CARDIOPATCH Leartiker organizes the 10th edition of the event Polymers and Medical Applications at its facilities on May 25

• The session is aimed to analyze the possibilities that polymers offer to the health sector with interventions of the technology center’s researchers

• During the conference, the main advances achieved within the framework of CARDIOPATCH, a R+D project focused on developing a therapy for patients with myocardial infarction based on cellular regenerative medicine and 3D printing technology, will be presented

Silicone, cellulose, polyethylene, polypropylene, neoprene, polyvinyl chloride, nylon… All these materials have one thing in common: they belong to the polymer family. The latest scientific advances show that many of these components have great potential to be used in the field of medicine.

With the aim of analyzing the possibilities that polymers offer to the health sector, Leartiker technology center, a partner in the European project CARDIOPATCH, which aims to develop a therapeutic solution for patients with myocardial infarction, has organized the 10th edition of the event Polymers and Medical Applications, which will take place at its facilities on May 25.

The event, which will start at 10 A.M. and last until 1:30 P.M., will address different areas related to the medical application of polymers, as well as the future prospects of the health industry in Euskadi.

During the meeting, the new developments in collagen, a natural polymer that is being used as base in the development of a new patch in the CARDIOPATCH project, will be explored by Viscofan, associated partner of the initiative. In addition, the instruments and the main materials currently used in cardiac operations will be reviewed and the risks involved in the use of polymers and their biocompatibility with the body will be analyzed as well.

The event will end with the intervention of Leartiker researchers Ainitze Gereka and Uzuri Urtaza, who will share with the audience the latest advances in the development of next-generation polymer-based medical devices.

In this section, the experts will have the opportunity to share with the attendees the work that the Basque center is carrying out in the CARDIOPATCH project, as well as the main characteristics of the therapy model for the treatment of myocardial infarction of this initiative, which is based in two fundamental fields: cellular regenerative medicine and 3D printing technology.

Specifically, CARDIOPATCH project, co-funded by the Interreg Sudoe Programme through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), will develop a stem-cell smart patch able to regenerate tissues damaged by infarction. The initiative will also create a roll-up 3D device, which will allow the patch implantation in the heart through less invasive methods and a 3D system to generalize the patch production and streamline transport. 

Led by Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN), CARDIOPATCH includes partners from Spain, France and Portugal: CIMA Universidad de Navarra, via the Foundation for Applied Medical Research, Leartiker Technology Center, Institut de Recerca de l’Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, communication agency GUK, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse, the University of Montpellier (UM) - Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), GenIbet Biopharmaceuticals and the Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica.