BME Seminar Series: Dr. Jon Silva, Washington University in St. Louis

Jon Silva, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis

Abstract: 

"Precision Antiarrhythmic Medicine"

The Silva lab focuses on using emerging technologies to develop new therapeutic approaches to treat patients with cardiac arrhythmia. We have used cutting-edge imaging to discover the connection between the conformational dynamics of the cardiac Na+ channel and patient response to drug therapy. This insight allowed us to develop an algorithm that predicted whether patients would respond to mexiletine therapy, based on their genetic background. A blinded clinical study showed that we were able to predict response correctly in 7 of 8 patients. A second project has leveraged new developments in the field of augmented reality to guide cardiac ablation procedures. Initial clinical data shows that physician accuracy is significantly improved with a  display that presents the anatomy in 3 dimensions.

Bio: 

Professor Silva joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis in July 2012. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Washington University School of Medicine, Professor Silva received the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface. His laboratory has developed algorithms to predict whether patients will respond to anti-arrhythmic therapies. A company that he founded, SentiAR Inc., is currently commercializing the first mixed reality solution for intraoperative use, focusing on cardiac ablation procedures.