Bioadhesive Electronics for Atraumatic Cardiac Monitoring and Pacing In Vivo

Existing clinically-adopted bioelectronic implants mostly rely on surgical suturing or insertion of electrodes to the target tissue for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. However, these approaches can cause tissue trauma during the application and/or retrieval of the bioelectronic implants, potentially causing detrimental complications such as bleeding, tissue damage, and/or device failure. Here, we report a bioadhesive electronic device for atraumatic epicardial monitoring and pacing of the heart in vivo to overcome the limitations of existing bioelectronic implants. We use multi-material 3D printing to fabricate the bioadhesive electronic device, which offers rapid atraumatic application and retrieval as well as robust mechanical and electrical interfacing with the heart. We systematically validate the mechanical and electrical properties, biocompatibility, continuous epicardial monitoring and pacing capability, and rapid on-demand atraumatic application and removal of the bioadhesive electronics based on in vivo rat and porcine models. These findings may offer a promising platform for atraumatic bioelectronic diagnosis and treatment and inspire the future development of bioadhesive electronics.