FIGHTING COVID-19 WITH ORGANS ON CHIPS
Prof.dr. Robert Passier
Recorded during: The 2020 TechMed Event | more info
Date recording: 8 October 2020
Abstract
The severity of the disruption of global healthcare systems and society worldwide by the COVID-19 pandemic knows few precedents. Because of the rapid spread of this new disease, physicians are partly working in the dark: little scientific data is available to support clinical decision making, especially when treating COVID-19 infected patients with comorbidities. This is not least because much remains unknown about the pathophysiology of the disease and the safety and efficacy of potential treatments. In particular, it is not understood why some COVID-19 patients show severe cardiac damage. Here I will discuss the use of human stem cell-based heart-on-chip models for a better understanding of how infection affects the heart and for evaluation of important COVID-19 pharmacotherapies currently under clinical investigation.