Liquid metal-based stretchable bioelectronic fiber for electrical stimulation and drug delivery in minimally invasive cardiac therapy

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases, such as ventricular arrhythmias and heart failure, require timely and effective treatment to prevent disease progression and improve patient outcomes. Current therapeutics, including electrical shock and emergent cardiovascular medications, have significantly contributed to managing these conditions. However, due to their systemic side effects, there are ongoing demands for highly effective localized therapies. In this regard, a soft implantable device has been considered for cardiac applications, but invasiveness in their implantation procedure and difficulty in compact integration of multiple functions are unmet challenges. To address these issues, we develop a stretchable, multi-functional fiber designed for emergent cardiac intervention, offering electrogram recording, electrical modulation, and drug therapy directly at the epicardial surface. With temperature-dependent phase shifting properties of the liquid metal inside the fiber, the stiffened fiber can be implanted into the thoracic cavity without invasive surgery. Once implanted, the softened fiber provides multimodal therapies (e.g., chemotherapy and electrical therapy) tailored to the patient's condition. By tuning the delivery parameters based on continuous electrogram recording, effective and urgent cardiac interventions for severe arrhythmias are demonstrated in an in vivo rat model.