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Bioelectronic Synergy Lab

2020

Research article Nature Electronics

An Epicardial Bioelectronic Patch Made from Soft Rubbery Materials and Capable of Spatiotemporal Mapping of Electrophysiological Activity

Exploded schematic of a fully rubbery epicardial bioelectronic patch, layering a PDMS substrate and encapsulation, AgNW/PDMS interconnects, ion-gel-gated P3HT-nanofiber/PDMS transistors, and AuNP–AgNW/PDMS sensing electrodes into an active-matrix mapping array.

Authors

K. Sim† , F. Ershad† , Y. Zhang† , P. Yang , H. Shim , Z. Rao , Y. Lu , A. Thukral , A. Elgalad , Y. Xi , B. Tian , D. Taylor , C. Yu

† These authors contributed equally.

Abstract

An epicardial bioelectronic patch is an important device for investigating and treating heart diseases. The ideal device should possess cardiac-tissue-like mechanical softness and deformability, and be able to perform spatiotemporal mapping of cardiac conduction characteristics and other physical parameters. However, existing patches constructed from rigid materials with structurally engineered mechanical stretchability still have a hard–soft interface with the epicardium, which can strain cardiac tissue and does not allow for deformation with a beating heart. Alternatively, patches made from intrinsically soft materials lack spatiotemporal mapping or sensing capabilities. Here, we report an epicardial bioelectronic patch that is made from materials matching the mechanical softness of heart tissue and can perform spatiotemporal mapping of electrophysiological activity, as well as strain and temperature sensing. Its capabilities are illustrated on a beating porcine heart. We also show that the patch can provide therapeutic capabilities (electrical pacing and thermal ablation), and that a rubbery mechanoelectrical transducer can harvest energy from heart beats, potentially providing a power source for epicardial devices.

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Cite this paper

K. Sim, F. Ershad, Y. Zhang, P. Yang, H. Shim, Z. Rao, Y. Lu, A. Thukral, A. Elgalad, Y. Xi, B. Tian, D. Taylor, C. Yu (2020). An Epicardial Bioelectronic Patch Made from Soft Rubbery Materials and Capable of Spatiotemporal Mapping of Electrophysiological Activity. Nature Electronics 3(12), 775–784. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-020-00493-6

BibTeX · Sim2020EpicardialBioelectronic

@article{Sim2020EpicardialBioelectronic,
  title = {{An Epicardial Bioelectronic Patch Made from Soft Rubbery Materials and Capable of Spatiotemporal Mapping of Electrophysiological Activity}},
  author = {K. Sim and F. Ershad and Y. Zhang and P. Yang and H. Shim and Z. Rao and Y. Lu and A. Thukral and A. Elgalad and Y. Xi and B. Tian and D. Taylor and C. Yu},
  journal = {Nature Electronics},
  year = {2020},
  volume = {3},
  number = {12},
  pages = {775--784},
  doi = {10.1038/s41928-020-00493-6},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-020-00493-6},
}

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