Long-Term Cardiac Electrical Imaging Enabled by Ultrahigh-Resolution Foldable Heart-Machine Interfaces.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Research
• Materials Science

Background:

• Advancing cardiac arrhythmia mapping requires overcoming challenges in biocompatibility, spatial resolution, and mechanical compatibility with heart tissue.
• Current electrophysiological mapping technologies face limitations in achieving high-density, flexible, and long-term stable interfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a rapid fabrication method for ultrahigh-density liquid metal electrode arrays for cardiac electrophysiological mapping.
• To create a flexible, foldable heart-machine interface deployable via minimally invasive procedures.
• To demonstrate the capability of the interface for high-resolution imaging of cardiac electrical activity and assess its long-term reliability.

Main Methods:

• Developed a rapid encapsulation technique for 10-μm scale liquid metal electrode arrays.
• Fabricated ultrahigh-density (∼28570 sensors/cm²) and flexible sensor arrays within 30 minutes.
• Constructed a foldable heart-machine interface with <3 mm folded diameter for minimally invasive deployment.
• Evaluated the interface's imaging resolution and long-term electrode functionality in animal models (rat, rabbit, dog).

Main Results:

• Achieved fabrication of ultrahigh-density, flexible sensor arrays in under 30 minutes.
• Demonstrated successful deployment of a foldable interface via minimally invasive access.
• Obtained high-resolution imaging of microscale cardiac electrical heterogeneity, including a 0.2 mm² reentrant pattern in ventricular fibrillation.
• Confirmed 100% electrode functionality over 98 days, indicating long-term reliability.

Conclusions:

• The developed rapid encapsulation method enables the creation of advanced, high-density, flexible liquid metal electrode arrays for cardiac mapping.
• The novel heart-machine interface provides high-resolution imaging of cardiac electrical activity and exhibits excellent long-term reliability.
• This technology has significant potential for improving the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and advancing other organ/tissue interfaces for health management.