Intrinsically stretchable electrode array enabled in vivo electrophysiological mapping of atrial fibrillation at cellular resolution

Abstract

<jats:p>Electrophysiological mapping of chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) at high throughput and high resolution is critical for understanding its underlying mechanism and guiding definitive treatment such as cardiac ablation, but current electrophysiological tools are limited by either low spatial resolution or electromechanical uncoupling of the beating heart. To overcome this limitation, we herein introduce a scalable method for fabricating a tissue-like, high-density, fully elastic electrode (elastrode) array capable of achieving real-time, stable, cellular level-resolution electrophysiological mapping in vivo. Testing with acute rabbit and porcine models, the device is proven to have robust and intimate tissue coupling while maintaining its chemical, mechanical, and electrical properties during the cardiac cycle. The elastrode array records epicardial atrial signals with comparable efficacy to currently available endocardial-mapping techniques but with 2 times higher atrial-to-ventricular signal ratio and &gt;100 times higher spatial resolution and can reliably identify electrical local heterogeneity within an area of simultaneously identified rotor-like electrical patterns in a porcine model of chronic AF.</jats:p>

Rapid custom prototyping of soft poroelastic biosensor for simultaneous epicardial recording and imaging

“…Intraoperative epicardial mapping is useful in localizing critical regions that indicate the origin of pathophysiological conditions such as arrhythmias after acute myocardial infarction, thereby providing important information to guide definitive surgical treatments, especially when the infarct border needs to be identified. 39 , 40 To demonstrate the utility of the custom-printed devices in this surgical setting, we performed intraoperative spatiotemporal mapping of epicardial ECG signals in a murine acute myocardial infarction model in vivo. Adult mice underwent left thoracotomy to expose the ventral portion of the heart, followed by the placement of a custom-printed sensor array (a total of six bipolar recording channels) on the epicardial surface to cover the ventricular epicardium (Fig.…”

Multifaceted Design and Emerging Applications of Tissue Adhesives

“…[ 2 ] Another work reports an adhesive hydrogel containing polydopamine and an array of electrodes demonstrated substantially improved recording efficiency due to the enhanced adhesion between the elastrode (elastic electrode) array and epicardium. [ 352 ]…”

Hydrogel facilitated bioelectronic integration

“…3d). 58 The electrodes of this array are designed to be <100 μm for potential single cardiomyocyte recording and possess tissue-like Young's modulus and elasticity, which enable a stable interface with beating cardiac tissue in vivo (Fig. 3e).…”