Wireless Bioelectronics for In Vivo Pressure Monitoring with Mechanically-Compliant Hydrogel Biointerfaces

Recent electronics-tissues biointefacing technology has offered unprecedented opportunities for long-term disease diagnosis and treatment. It remains a grand challenge to robustly anchor the pressure sensing bioelectronics onto specific organs, since the periodically-varying stress generated by normal biological processes may pose high risk of interfacial failures. Here, a general yet reliable approach is reported to achieve the robust hydrogel interface between wireless pressure sensor and biological tissues/organs, featuring highly desirable mechanical compliance and swelling resistance, despite the direct contact with biofluids and dynamic conditions. The sensor is operated wirelessly through inductive coupling, characterizing minimal hysteresis, fast response times, excellent stability, and robustness, thus allowing for easy handling and eliminating the necessity for surgical extraction after a functional period. The operation of the wireless sensor has been demonstrated with a custom-made pressure sensing model and in vivo intracranial pressure monitoring in rats. This technology may be advantageous in real-time post-operative monitoring of various biological inner pressures after the reconstructive surgery, thus guaranteeing the timely treatment of lethal diseases.