Cardiac arrhythmias can be an undesirable and potentially lethal side effect of drugs. During this condition, the electrical activity of the heart turns chaotic, decimating its pumping function, thus diminishing the circulation of blood through the body. Some kind of arrhythmias, if not treated with a defibrillator, will cause death within minutes.

Before a new drug reaches the market, pharmaceutical companies need to check for the risk of inducing arrhythmias. Currently, this process takes years and involves costly animal and human studies. With this new software tool, drug developers would be able to quickly assess the viability of a new compound. This means better and safer drugs reaching the market to improve patients’ lives.