Engineering a Bioelectronic Hybrid Heart with Integrated Sensing and Electrical Modulation

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of mortality worldwide, motivating the development of advanced therapeutic strategies, including engineered cardiac substitutes. Here, we report a bioelectronic hybrid heart that integrates engineered cardiac tissue with embedded electrophysiological sensing and stimulation capabilities. A decellularized cardiac scaffold was cellularized by injection of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and assembled with a cell-laden, three-dimensional-printed extracellular matrix coating containing a custom-designed electronic mesh. After 14 days of culture, the embedded electrodes recorded spontaneous cardiac activity, while localized electrical stimulation affected the tissue, enabling pacing at controlled frequencies. Calcium imaging demonstrated spatial activation across the engineered tissue during pacing. This platform establishes a foundation for integrating real-time monitoring and electronic functional regulation into engineered cardiac constructs and represents an initial step toward bioelectronic organ engineering.