Flexible Silicon Implant enables more accurate mapping of heart electrical activity

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School have developed type of implant designed to measure the electrical activity of the heart with a high level of precision. This should help doctors diagnose problems with a much higher degree of accuracy spotting problems in their early stages and picking up the root cause of abnormal heart rhythm. The implant relies on using flexible silicon that can wrap around the surface of the pericardium. Because the leads are very close to the heart its self, they can pick up the signal with greater detail. The current method of diagnosing heart arrhythmias involves inserting a catheter with approximately 10 leads into the heart and moving it around to different regions. This device consists of 288 contacts and more than 2,000 transistors giving a large amount of definition. Clinical studies of the device have already been performed in large animals and have proved the concept and its effectiveness. More work needs to be done however before this technology is ready to be implanted in humans. This project is a collaboration between researchers from multiple different disciplines and institutions ranging from biomedical engineers to cardiologists to material scientists to mechanical and electrical engineers. A next possible step for this technology includes adapting it so that it can be used to map the activity of the brain or developing ‘intelligent’ pacemakers that can actively adjust their pacing action to coincide with changing electrical patterns in the heart. This will make pacemakers adaptive rather than always putting out the same pulse pattern. This project is interesting because it involves so many different disciplines and could develop into a new tool that could greatly improve the effectiveness of doctors and has the ability to adapted to a number of other applications.

http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=8611