Case Study – The Swiss Center for Regenerative Medicine in Zurich

Medical science of the future

Stem cell therapy instead of open-heart surgery

Research in cardiac surgery has taken a quantum leap forward in recent decades. For instance, while a defective heart valve used to be equivalent to a death sentence, operating on heart valves is now a routine intervention. In addition to conventional procedures, the range of research today encompasses many innovative topics such as minimally invasive operating techniques, materials science, molecular biology and regenerative medicine. The goal of the Swiss Center for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM) at the University of Zurich is to apply the principles of these technologies to next-generation therapies. It combines the fields of basic biomedical research and clinical research.