Scientists are already utilising the new SyncroPatch machine in the Victor Chang Innovation Centre. It is the only one in Australia and is enabling researchers to screen cells to look for pathogenic mutations that cause sudden cardiac arrest – a condition that takes at least 22,000 lives every year. What used to take weeks, if not months of work, can now be done in a day. This cutting-edge instrument can also test a whole range of therapies to determine if they cause life-threatening arrhythmias – work that will make medications safer and more available for Australians – and find whole new classes of drugs. A huge thank you to the McCusker Charitable Foundation and Commercial Projects Pty Ltd who provided funding for the SyncroPatch. It really is transforming the way heart disease is investigated.
