Recent Advances in Stimuli-Responsive Materials and Soft Robotic Actuators for Bioelectronic Medicine

Bioelectronic medicine uses implantable electronic devices to interface with electrically active tissues and transform the way disease is diagnosed and treated. One of the biggest challenges is the development of minimally invasive devices that can be deployed to patients at scale. Responsive materials and soft robotic actuators offer unique opportunities to make bioelectronic devices with shape actuation, promising to address the limitations of existing rigid and passive systems, including difficult deployment, mechanical mismatch with soft tissues, and limited adaptability in minimally invasive settings. In this review, an overview is provided of smart materials and soft robotic technologies that show promises for implantable use, discussing advantages and limitations of underlying actuation mechanisms. Examples are then presented where soft actuating mechanisms are combined with microelectrodes to create shape actuating bioelectronic devices. Opportunities and challenges for next-generation intelligent bioelectronic devices assisted by responsive materials and soft robotic actuators are then discussed. These innovations may allow electronic implants to safely navigate to target areas inside the body and establish large area and spatiotemporally controlled interfaces for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures that are minimally invasive.