This spring a group of researchers developed a flexible electronic sensor to better map the electrical system of the heart. This sensor will allow doctors to view the heart as a whole, thus making better judgments on where a short circuit is occurring.
John A. Rogers, a professor of material science and engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been working on this project for seven years. He is a huge contributor to the whole process and believes that these sensors will enhance the world of surgical techniques, sooner rather than later.
Essentially, this team has created an integrated circuit that will record electrical activity of the heart to get a complete understanding of the inside of a body. This idea of using a computer chip to diagnose a problem is not unheard of; Toyota places a box filled with sensors, circuits and computer chips into every car made to track the car’s record and to then diagnose the cause of an accident. Though a car might be able to handle these big, hard, brittle and rigid devices, the human body cannot. Instead this new sensor is small, soft, stretchable and flexible for easier insertion into a body.
These tiny wafers are inserted in through the chest wall, placed on the heart tissue and every few minutes moved around to get the whole picture of the heart of a pig, the only test subject used so far. The surgery technique used is less intrusive than before, using only a tiny incision because only a small instrument is needed to place the sensor on the designated location. This new surgery also improves the stability of the body during surgery and minimizes the inflammation afterwards. The activity of the sensors provides a full evaluation of the heart’s rhythms, allowing the doctors to figure out a way to treat cardiac arrhythmias. 
What makes these electronic sensors unique in the field of sensors, is their ability to move without dissolving in the body’s liquid. There are 2,016 silicon nanomembrane transistors in every sensor that is covered with three layers of thin silk. These transistors will monitor the electricity coursing through the heart, and work together to complete the map of the heart. Rogers and his team had tried multiple materials to cover the sensor without taking the flexibility from the device. Either these other materials compromised the stretchablity, or were too thick. They came across a silk substance and finally found that three layers was the right amount to allow the wafer to work. The silk helps provide a barrier for the sensor so it can still flex easily without getting tangled once touching the wet heart. Because the wafer is small and bendable, no large probes are needed in surgery to adjust the sensor. No adhesives are needed to make the sensor adhere without being stuck on the organ; the sensor can easily be lifted off, moved, or taken out. The twelve researchers believe this is a completely unique concept in the world of medicine.
Rogers has said he is hoping his research will lead to many advances within the health community, including finding reasons for disabilities in the brain, innovations in the eye, and development of better prosthetics.
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