The Device Angle on Angiogenesis

Ten years ago, researchers observed that injecting vascular endothelial growth factors or fibroblast frowth factors into animal models of ischemia stimulated the formation of new blood vessels. The discovery that, with a bit of prompting, the body's natural capacity for angiogenesis could be accelerated, has drawn more than a dozen drug firms and a handful of cardiovascular device companies into the search for a biological alternative that can aid or replace current cardiovascular interventions, or even delay the progression of heart disease.