A WAY TO KEEP YOUR HEART BEATING FOREVER - A 3D-PRINTED DEVICE

 

Photo Univ of Illinois and Washington Univ

Using an inexpensive 3-D printer, biomedical engineers have developed a custom-fitted, implantable device with embedded sensors that could transform treatment and prediction of cardiac disorders.

 

The 3-D elastic membrane is made of a soft, flexible, silicon material that is precisely shaped to match the heart’s outer layer of the wall.
 

Current technology is two-dimensional and cannot cover the full surface of the epicardium or maintain reliable contact for continual use without sutures or adhesives. The team can then print tiny sensors onto the membrane that can precisely measure temperature, mechanical strain and pH, among other markers, or deliver a pulse of electricity in cases of arrhythmia. 

 

The new cardiac device -- a thin, stretchable membrane imprinted with a spider-web-like network of sensors and electrodes -- is custom-designed to fit over the heart and contract and expand with it as it beats.

 

It is about 10-15 years away from being made available to humans, but the revolutionary device might be a long-term solution to these normally catastrophic events.  When it senses such a catastrophic event as a heart attack or arrhythmia, it can also apply a high definition therapy

 

Sources

http://www.sciencegymnasium.com/2014/03/3d-printed-electronic-glove-could-help.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2571917/Membrane-heart-pumping-forever-possibly-prevent-heart-attacks.html

 

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