Dr. Natalia Trayanova, Murray B. Sachs Professor of Biomedical Engineering and member of the Institute for Computational Medicine was featured in a recent news release on the Johns Hopkins University News website. The article, entitled “Researchers Aim to Use Light—Not Electric Jolts—to Restore Healthy Heartbeats” was released on August 28 along with publication of the research in Nature Communications.

“In a paper published today in the online journal Nature Communications, five biomedical engineers from Johns Hopkins and Stony Brook universities described their plan to use biological lab data and an intricate computer model to devise a better way to heal ailing hearts. Other scientists are already using light-sensitive cells to control certain activities in the brain. The Johns Hopkins-Stony Brook researchers say they plan to give this technique a cardiac twist so that doctors in the near future will be able to use low-energy light to solve serious heart problems such as arrhythmia.”

To read the full story, click here.

** Update: November 19 ** The story was featured in the Baltimore Sun here: Light could replace shock to regulate hearts

U.S. and international coverage:

Slate Magazine,
Aug. 30: Future Heart Attack Treatments Will Use Light, Not Volts, to Keep Your Heart Beating
CNET News (CBS Interactive),
Aug. 28: Scientists shine a light on irregular heart beats
BioOptics World,
Aug. 30: Optogenetics could work to correct life-threatening arrhythmias
Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology,
Sept. 6: Researchers Aim to Use Light — Not Electric Jolts — to Restore Healthy Heartbeats
Motherboard,
Aug. 30: The Pacemakers of the Future Will Keep Your Heart Beating With Light
GMA News (The Philippines),
Aug. 30: US researchers eye light beams to treat irregular heartbeats
Ivanhoe’s Medical Breakthroughs,
Sep. 3: Using Light Instead of Electric Jolts to Restore Heartbeats
Medgadget,
Aug. 28: Virtual Heart Beats to the Rhythm of the Light
Zimbabwe Star, Aug. 31:
Light-based technology rather than electric jolts may in future restore healthy heartbeats
eldeber.com.bo (Bolivia), Sept. 2:
Usarán luz para estimular el corazón que late con arritmia
topsante.com (France),
Sept. 2: Infarctus : de la lumière pour ranimer le cœur
elektroda.pl (Poland),
Sept. 1: Światło zamiast impulsów elektrycznych w defibrylatorach przyszłości
Maxisciences.com (France), Sept. 1: Coeur : utiliser de la lumière en guise de défibrillateur
Scientific Computing,
Sept. 3: Using Light — Not Electric Jolts — to Restore Healthy Heartbeats
HaziPatika.com (Hungary),
Sept. 3: Újraélesztés: már fénnyel is lehetséges?
Big News Network (Australia),
Aug. 29: Light could replace electric jolts to restore healthy heartbeats
Hot Digital News,
Aug. 28: Scientists shine a light on irregular heart beats
OverclockersClub.com,
Aug. 29: Potentially Replacing Electricity with Light for Pacemakers and Defibrillators
ThirdAge.com,
Aug. 29: A New Kind of Defibrillator On the Horizon
Headlines & Global News,
Aug. 28: Researchers Working on Technology to Replace ‘Electric Current’ with ‘Light’ to Restore Heartbeat
ANI News Service (India), Aug. 29:
Light could replace electric jolts to restore healthy heartbeats
Toronto Telegraph,
Aug. 29: Light could replace electric jolts to restore healthy heartbeats
R&D Magazine,
Aug. 28: Researchers aim to use light to restore healthy heartbeats
Science Daily,
Aug. 28: Researchers Aim to Use Light — Not Electric Jolts — To Restore Healthy Heartbeats
Zee News (India),
Aug. 29: Light could replace electric jolts to restore healthy heartbeats
(Other India-based news sites that picked up this ANI article included Yahoo! News – India, NewKerala.com, WebIndia123.com, Truthdive.com, NewsTrackIndia.com, NewsSmashits.com, NetIndia123.com)

More coverage

Science Codex | Bioportfolio.com | ECN Magazine (Electronic Design Community): | News-Medical.Net | e! Science News | Press-News.org | Science Blog | ElectronicProducts.com | VR Zone.com | Futurity | Photonics.com | BioOptics World | Clubhouse News | AlwaysResearching.com | Bloggero.Info.com | Newswise | PT Community | Science Newsline | Laboratory Equipment | Eurekalert | Partner in Sublime | Lukor.Net | Baltimore Fishbowl | SmartBrief.com | MediLexicon | DPA on the Net | First World Med Tech | Medical News Today | Real Clear Science | AZ o Optics | DC-epaper | MDT Magazine | JHU Whiting School of Engineering News | Johns Hopkins Biomedical Engineering News