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.
Igor Efimov, PhD, at the School of Engineering & Applied
Science at Washington University in St. Louis and an international team of
biomedical engineers and materials scientists have created a 3-D elastic
membrane made of a soft, flexible, silicon material that is precisely shaped to
match the heart’s epicardium, or the outer layer of the wall of the heart.
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.