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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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Scientists Just Revealed the First Ever 3D Map Of The Heart’s Hidden Electrical Wiring– Could Make Heart Surgery Safer for Millions

For decades, surgeons have successfully repaired congenital heart defects and saved countless lives. However, many patients who undergo heart surgery in childhood later develop problems such as abnormal heart rhythms and disturbances in the way their hearts beat. Now, a groundbreaking study has revealed a hidden part of the heart that may help explain why these complications occur.

Researchers from University College London (UCL) and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) have created the first-ever three-dimensional map of the heart’s electrical wiring in Tetralogy of Fallot, one of the most common congenital heart defects. Their findings provide an unprecedented view of the heart’s conduction system and could help surgeons perform safer operations while improving long-term outcomes for patients.

The study is part of the international Human Organ Atlas project and was published in JTCVS Structural and Endovascular.

Understanding Tetralogy of Fallot

Congenital heart disease affects around 1% of people worldwide. Among these conditions, Tetralogy of Fallot is one of the most common and serious defects present at birth.

The condition involves four structural abnormalities in the heart that affect blood flow and reduce the amount of oxygen reaching the body. Most babies born with Tetralogy of Fallot require surgery early in life to survive and live healthy lives.

Modern surgical techniques have dramatically improved survival rates. Today, many patients live well into adulthood after successful childhood operations. However, a significant number later experience heart rhythm disorders, irregular heartbeats, or problems with the heart’s electrical signaling system.

For years, doctors have suspected that these complications may be linked to damage or disruption of the heart’s electrical pathways during surgery. The challenge has been that these pathways are essentially invisible to surgeons.

The Heart’s Hidden Electrical Network

The heart does much more than pump blood. Every heartbeat is controlled by a specialized network of electrical fibers known as the cardiac conduction system.

These tiny pathways carry electrical signals through the heart muscle, ensuring that the chambers contract in the correct sequence and at the right time. If these signals are disrupted, the heart may beat too slowly, too quickly, or irregularly.

Professor Andrew Cook, senior author of the study and professor of cardiac anatomy at UCL, compared the situation to renovating a house.

He explained that nobody would drill into a wall without knowing where the electrical wires are located. Yet heart surgeons often have to operate without being able to see the heart’s electrical wiring directly.

Instead, surgeons rely on anatomical landmarks to estimate where these important structures are located. The new study provides updated and more accurate information about those landmarks.

A Revolutionary Imaging Technology

The breakthrough was made possible by a powerful imaging technique called Hierarchical Phase-Contrast Tomography, or HiP-CT.

Developed at the ESRF in Grenoble, France, HiP-CT allows scientists to examine entire human organs in extraordinary detail without cutting or damaging them.

The technology uses the ESRF’s Extremely Brilliant Source, a next-generation synchrotron that produces X-ray beams up to one million times more intense than those used in conventional hospital CT scanners.

This remarkable capability allows researchers to scan whole organs and then zoom in to near-cellular detail. The images can reach resolutions as small as two microns, which is about fifty times thinner than a human hair.

According to researcher Joseph Brunet of UCL and the ESRF, the technology bridges a gap that has existed for more than a century between radiology and traditional tissue analysis. It offers scientists a completely new way to study human anatomy.

Examining Human Hearts in 3D

Using HiP-CT scans performed at the ESRF, researchers examined 18 human heart specimens. Some of the hearts had Tetralogy of Fallot, while others were healthy and served as comparisons.

The team reconstructed the cardiac conduction system in three dimensions, allowing them to visualize the network of electrical fibers throughout the heart.

Although doctors have long understood where electrical signals originate, the exact pathways through the heart muscle have remained difficult to observe.

The detailed scans finally revealed how these pathways are organized and how they differ in hearts affected by congenital disease.

A Surprising Discovery

One of the most important findings involved the right ventricle, the chamber most affected in Tetralogy of Fallot.

Researchers discovered that the electrical wiring in this chamber does not follow the same pattern seen in healthy hearts.

Instead of forming a typical network, the conduction fibers were noticeably thinner and spread across the ventricular septum, the wall that separates the heart’s lower chambers.

The researchers described the arrangement as resembling a piece of fabric draped over a surface.

This unusual structure may help explain why patients with Tetralogy of Fallot are more likely to develop conduction disorders and abnormal heart rhythms later in life.

The discovery provides the clearest evidence yet that the electrical architecture of these hearts differs significantly from normal anatomy.

Helping Surgeons Protect the Heart’s Wiring

For congenital heart surgeons, this new information could have major practical benefits.

Heart surgery often takes place in extremely challenging conditions, especially when operating on newborns and young children. The structures involved are tiny, and even small mistakes can have lifelong consequences.

By showing exactly where the electrical pathways travel through the heart muscle, the new maps could help surgeons avoid accidentally damaging them during procedures.

Dr. Adrian Crucean, a congenital heart surgeon in the United Kingdom, emphasized that any improvement in anatomical knowledge can help refine surgical techniques and improve both short-term and long-term patient outcomes.

More precise understanding of the conduction system could reduce the risk of postoperative rhythm disorders and improve quality of life for patients decades after surgery.

A Better Future for Adult Patients

The impact of this research extends beyond childhood surgery.

Many adults who underwent successful heart operations as children continue to require specialized cardiac care. Even when their original defects have been corrected, they can develop complications years later.

According to cardiologist Monique Jongbloed, the new findings are transforming scientists’ understanding of the heart’s electrical architecture in congenital heart disease.

This improved knowledge could lead to better monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment of patients throughout their lives.

Ultimately, the goal is not only to help patients survive but also to ensure they enjoy the highest possible quality of life.

Bringing Heart Anatomy into Virtual Reality

The researchers did more than create detailed images. They also developed advanced computational tools capable of analyzing the enormous datasets generated by HiP-CT scans.

Using these tools, the team transformed the heart models into immersive three-dimensional visualizations.

The data can be explored in virtual reality and even converted into physical 3D-printed models.

According to PhD student and lead author Vaishnavi Sabarigirivasan, this is the first time the cardiac conduction system has been visualized in such a realistic and accessible way.

These models could become valuable educational tools for training future surgeons and helping them better understand the complex anatomy they encounter in the operating room.

A New Era in Heart Surgery

The creation of the first 3D map of the heart’s electrical wiring in Tetralogy of Fallot marks an important milestone in cardiac research.

By revealing previously hidden anatomical structures, scientists have provided surgeons with a clearer roadmap for navigating one of the most delicate areas of the human body.

As imaging technologies continue to advance, researchers hope to create similar maps for other congenital heart conditions. These efforts could ultimately lead to safer surgeries, fewer complications, and healthier lives for millions of patients around the world.

For a condition that affects thousands of newborns every year, understanding the heart’s invisible wiring may prove to be one of the most important breakthroughs in modern cardiac medicine.

Reference: Vaishnavi Sabarigirivasan et al, The heterogeneous nature of atrioventricular conduction tissues in tetralogy of Fallot demonstrated by hierarchical phase-contrast tomography, JTCVS Structural and Endovascular (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.xjse.2026.100111

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