MIT Engineers Develop Gel-Based Electrodes for Cardiac Implants and More

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have made a breakthrough in the field of bioelectronic implants.

They have developed electrodes of metal-free materials that are soft and reliable for biological tissue and are able to conduct electricity similar to conventional metals.

They believe that this innovative material, a high-performance conducting polymer hydrogel, has the potential to replace rigid metal electrodes with flexible, gel-based electrodes that can interact with organs in the body. This breakthrough could revolutionize the field of bioelectronics and pave the way for advanced medical devices.

Traditionally, implanted electrodes were made of rigid metals that can cause tissue damage, scarring, and inflammation over time. That can potentially lead to decreased implant performance.

Instead, this newly developed material mimics the properties of our own bodies, with a similar water content. These gel-like electrodes offer a biomimetic alternative, which function like metal electrodes, but with better biocompatibility and a more natural feel.

Led by Hyunwoo Yuk, co-founder of SanaHeal, a medical device startup, and Xuanhe Zhao, professor of mechanical engineering and civil and environmental engineering at MIT, the team published their findings in the journal Nature Materials.

The authors of the study include Tao Zhou, assistant professor at Penn State University, as well as researchers from Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Creating conductive gel-based materials is a significant challenge. Most polymers are insulators and do not easily conduct electricity.

However, a special class of polymers discovered in the 1970s have demonstrated the ability to conduct electrons through their bulk, opening up possibilities for bioelectronic applications.

Previous attempts to combine conductive polymers with hydrogels resulted in weak and brittle materials with poor electrical performance.

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