Scalable Production of Flexible Electronics for Anatomical Mapping and Sensors

Background & Unmet Need

• Cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation (A Fib) can be treated with radiofrequency catheter ablation
• Electroanatomical mapping is used to identify the cardiac circuits triggering arrhythmias ahead of the radiofrequency catheter ablation procedure
• Current electroanatomical mapping systems are limited due to rigid basket catheter designs which do not conform to complex atrial or ventricular anatomy
• Flexible electronics can accommodate repeated strain and conform to patient anatomy, making them ideal for use in anatomic sensors and actuators
• However, current production of flexible electronics relies on novel material formulations and production within clean rooms, which limit scalability
• Unmet Need: There is a need to develop flexible and scalable multielectrode arrays for electroanatomical mapping and sensing applications

Technology Overview

• The Technology:A method for scalable generation of soft robotic sensor arrays (SRSA) with the ability to conform to anatomical structures using a conventional laser cutting tool
• The inventors leverage the thermal masking principle to selectively remove insulation of electronic circuits, allowing for production of SRSAs with increased flexibility
• PoC Data: Postprocessing of flex-printed circuit boards (PCBs) using this method led to increased flexibility of SRSAs based on stress strain assessments
• SRSAs successfully mapped four 3D printed left cardiac atria with an average of 85-90% conformability between the sensors and atrial surface
• SRSAs maintained mechanical integrity based on the ability of the array to withstand 100 cycles of actuation without reduction of performance

Technology Applications

• Production of soft robotic sensor arrays for use in electroanatomical mapping, such as cardiac mapping
• Large scale production of low-cost stretchable electronics such as those used in diagnostic implants, health monitors, and sensory skin for medical robotics

Technology Advantages

• Integrates soft robotics with flexible electronics to allow for unrivaled anatomical conformity
• Allows for excellent electronic stretchability without requiring novel materials
• This method can be readily applied to a wide variety of geometry actuator/sensor arrays
• Can easily scale to mass production at a low cost

Top: Schematic of use of thermal masking principle to selectively remove insulation of electronic circuit boards Bottom: Circuit boards demonstrate increased stretchability in stress-strain curves after post-processing.