Biocompatible Patch to Heal Infants with Birth Defects

Biocompatible patches to repair congenital heart defects are under development at Rice University and Texas Children's Hospital. About one in 125 babies born in the United States suffers such a defect. The patches are seeded with live cardiac cells and, after incubation, beat under their own power. The new scaffold is designed to support the growth of healthy new tissue and over time, it would degrade and leave a repaired heart.