An experimental implant now under development could serve as a temporary monitor and pacemaker for ailing heart patients -- then dissolve away when it's no longer needed.
About the size of a postage stamp, the soft, flexible device uses an array of sensors and actuators to perform more complicated investigations than traditional devices, such as pacemakers, can accomplish. Photo by Northwestern University/George Washington University The soft, lightweight and transparent implant is about the size of a postage stamp, and is made of polymers and metals that are biodegradable, researchers reported this week in the journal Science Advances. Advertisement Early experiments have shown that the implant can be placed upon the heart of a lab rat, take accurate readings, and then safely dissolve and be absorbed. The implant would be a boon for patients who have developed heart rhythm complications as a result of a heart attack, surgery or other treatment, said co-senior researcher Igor Efimov, an experimental cardiologist and professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern University in Chicago. RELATED Mood disorders plague some Implanted heart device recipients Those patients now have to wear sticky sensors and tote a bulky monitor so doctors can keep track of their heart as it recovers, Efimov said. Advertisement "The challenge with those devices is they're not very comfortable," he said. "They interfere with daily functioning. For example, you cannot wash in the shower very easily." The new implant could be inserted during a person's heart surgery or procedure. It would provide data via electrodes and optical sensors, and even could be rigged to deliver an electrical jolt to set straight any irregular heart rhythms that occur, Efimov said. RELATED New transplant method could expand supply of donor hearts "Let's say someone just had a heart surgery. After heart surgery, about 30% of patients will get atrial fibrillation [a-fib]," he said. "We want to create an electronic device which can be implanted for the amount of time required, then dissolve." In cases of postoperative complications like a-fib, devices would typically…