<International Circulation>:  Implanted stem cells are a promising treatment in cardiology. What is your view of this technology?

Dr. Granada: Stem cells have gone through what I call a biphasic response. There was a lot of excitement and a good amount of investment went into that area from the NIH and also from industry and other sources. As we started to understand the complexity of the field， including the need for sophisticated mapping systems， imaging systems， catheter systems， and most importantly and efficacious cell， the field has gone more into a research mode than a product development mode. However， the field is moving very rapidly and the imaging companies have made important advances in algorithms for mapping and detecting， catheters are getting safer， and biologists are learning more about cell implantation. As a result， I am excited about what is to come and within the next several years we are going to see significant advances in endomyocardial cell delivery.