Team makes use of stretchable electronics for heart catheter

The device — developed by a group that included researchers from Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering — is said to mark the first time stretchable electronics have been applied to cardiac ablation, a milestone that could lead to simpler surgeries for arrhythmia and other heart conditions.

According to a statement, the researchers had previously demonstrated the concept to apply stretchable electronics to heart surgery, but with this research improved the design’s functionality to the point that it could be utilised in animal tests.


A paper describing the research, ‘Electronic Sensor and Actuator Webs for Large-Area Complex Geometry Cardiac Mapping and Therapy’, has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.



Cardiac ablation is a surgical technique that corrects heart rhythm irregularities by destroying specific heart tissue that triggers irregular heartbeats.

The procedure is typically performed either with open-heart surgery or by inserting a series of long, flexible catheters through a vein in the patient’s groin and into his heart.