Platinum is being used in an innovative new medical experiment to ascertain what effect the treatment of tachycardia has on the heart.

Tachycardia is essentially a rapid heartbeat condition, which is typically treated through the use of an implanted device that applies electrical pulses to try to restore the heart to a regular beat.

However, treatment of the condition has occasionally resulted in even more irregular beats, with potentially dangerous consequences.

Now biomedical engineers at Johns Hopkins say they may have discovered the cause of the problem by using platinum to help monitor the heartbeat under the same conditions.

First the team collect cardiac cells under the microscope where they are placed in a nutrient solution, as they build a series of electrical connections.

Then the cells are stained with a voltage-sensitive dye, with a platinum wire used to send electric pulses to the cell culture.

Each jolt resulted in a visible glow in the cells, with the charge clearly discernable thanks to an optical-fibre bundle beneath the culture.

Scientists say by mapping this process they can scrutinise the problem of irregular heartbeats, allowing them to see the shape and movement of each electrical wave.

Writing in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," the biomedical engineers say that they believe unorthodox electrical waves called multiarm spirals are likely to be responsible for the accelerated heartbeats.

The findings could ultimately lead to advancements in the next generation of implantable cardioverter defibrillators, which help thousands of people with heart rhythm abnormalities.