Electronic Shrink Wrap Conforms to a Beating Heart

摘要

A thin membrane equipped with sensors and other electronics that wraps around a beating heart like shrink wrap could transform the treatment of cardiac disorders. Using an inexpensive 3D printer, Igor Efimov, a professor of biomedical engineering at Washington Univ. in St. Louis, and an international team of biomedical engineers and material scientists have created elastic membranes made of soft, flexible silicon that are precisely shaped to match the heart's outer layer. The researchers created membranes integrated with several sensor arrays to measure pH, temperature, and mechanical strain, and demonstrated their function on rabbit hearts.