Flexible electronics assist multi-functional catheters

But this, too, can be a long and painful procedure as many catheters, with different functions, need to be inserted sequentially.

Now an interdisciplinary team, including researchers from Northwestern University and the the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has developed one catheter that can do it all.

This tool for cardiac ablation therapy has all necessary medical devices printed on a standard balloon catheter: a device for eliminating damaged tissue using heat, temperature and pressure sensors, an LED and an electrocardiogram (EKG) sensor.

The multi-functional catheter makes a minimally invasive technique for heart surgery even better, since both diagnostic and treatment capabilities are combined in one.

Stretchable electronics developed by Prof Yonggang Huang of Northwestern and John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign made the development of the catheter possible.

The ability of the electronics to stretch is important because it enabled the researchers to print all the necessary medical devices on a section of a standard endocardial balloon catheter where the wall is thinner than the rest.