Flexible electronic heart patch keeps ticker on track

Developed at the University of Houston, the rubbery patch simultaneously collects electrophysiological activity, temperature, heartbeat, as well as other indicators.

According to the researchers, implantable heart devices have previously had to make compromises, with flexible patches collecting limited types of data, and more rigid implants not being pliable enough to operate in tandem with a beating heart.

In the study, published in Nature Electronics, the Houston team claims this is the first time a cardiac implant like this has been made using fully rubbery electronic materials that are compatible with heart tissue.

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"Unlike bioelectronics primarily based on rigid materials with mechanical structures that are stretchable on the macroscopic level, constructing bioelectronics out of materials with moduli matching those of the biological tissues suggests a promising route towards next-generational bioelectronics and biosensors that do not have a hard-soft interface for the heart and other organs," the researchers wrote.