Heart Foundation awards Dekker Grant to atrial fibrillation researcher

The Heart Foundation has awarded researcher Dr. Mathijs van Schie (Erasmus MC) a Dekker Grant. This is a personal research grant for talented scientists that is awarded annually. With this grant of €306,000, he will be able to conduct research into cardiovascular diseases in the coming years.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder and increases the risk of complications such as heart failure and strokes. Technical physician Van Schie wants to use new AI technology to make visible, for each patient, which areas in the heart are causing the problems. This improves diagnosis and treatment, prevents complications, and enables faster, more effective, tailor-made care.

Van Schie’s research contributes to the Medical Delta Cardiac Arrhythmia Lab, one of the scientific programs in Medical Delta’s 2019–2024 agenda.

Damaged heart tissue

In the Netherlands, 385,000 people have been diagnosed, and in addition, an estimated 80,000 more are unaware that they have the condition. Atrial fibrillation increases the risk of complications such as heart failure and strokes. In women, the condition is often recognized later, even though they tend to experience more severe symptoms. Existing treatments, such as burning or freezing diseased areas of the heart, unfortunately do not always work.

An important reason for this is that some parts of the heart tissue are damaged. These unhealthy areas do not properly transmit the electrical impulses needed for a normal heartbeat.

Insight through AI

Van Schie’s new AI technology aims to recognize patterns in highly detailed electrical signals from the heart. These signals were previously collected during open-heart surgeries and provide unique insights into the functioning of atrial tissue.

The AI technology also reveals the reasoning behind its conclusions, allowing the doctor to review all the data and choose the optimal treatment.

Van Schie: “We see that, from the outside, the heart rhythm sometimes looks the same, but the underlying damage can be completely different in each patient. Thanks to this new technique, we now gain insight into that. It not only helps us choose more effective treatments, but also to prevent the future worsening of atrial fibrillation. When we can prevent atrial fibrillation, we can also prevent serious complications such as heart failure and strokes.”

What makes the new technique unique is that it is used not only during episodes of arrhythmia, but also when the heart is beating in a normal rhythm. This is crucial, because atrial fibrillation often occurs in episodes and is not always present when a patient is examined. By identifying diseased areas even when the heart is in a normal rhythm, the chances of an accurate diagnosis and treatment become much greater.

Faster solutions for patients

Scientific research is urgently needed to prevent people from dying or becoming increasingly ill due to cardiovascular diseases. With its personal Dekker Grants, the Heart Foundation connects top talent to cardiovascular research. The selection process for a Dekker Grant is rigorous: both the quality of the researcher and the quality of the research are evaluated.

Through these grants, the Heart Foundation enables researchers to engage in long-term scientific research into cardiovascular diseases. This allows them to take the next step in their careers as researchers. The Dekker Grant helps them establish and expand their own line of research.

About the Dekker Grants

The Dekker Grant is named after Dr. E. Dekker, former director of the Heart Foundation. He was the initiator in the Netherlands of citizen assistance in the event of a cardiac arrest.

See also: Over 4.5 million euros for top research: 12 scientists receive Dekker grants | Hartstichting