Abstract
During a cardiac surgery for cardiomyopathy or infarction, the position of lesion has been identified by palpation, myocardiogram examination or thermometry scan. However, technical limitations such as relatively long examination time and less spatial resolution have remained. In this study, to detect the accurate position of lesion quickly even on a surface of beating heart, we developed an ultra-flexible electrode array for myocardiogram measurement. A gold patterned electrode array of 50-nm-thickness was fabricated on a 1.4-μm-thick PEN film and insulated with an additional Parylene-C layer of 1.5-μm-thickness. The living heart surface of a Wistar rat (male, 300g) was exposed under isoflurane anesthesia. Attaching the flexible electrodes to that, the distribution of myocardiogram was measured. The measured result successfully described the distribution of cardiac action potential at the heart surface. The ultra-flexibility of electrode device prevents damage of the heart and surrounding organs like lung. In the future, an implantable flexible electrode device equipped with sensors and amplifier with flexible transistors will be developed for clinical applications.
