Abstract
The rapid development of micro/nanofabrication technologies to engineer a variety of materials has enabled new types of bioelectronics for health monitoring and disease diagnostics. In this review, we summarize widely used electronic materials in recent low-profile implantable systems, including traditional metals and semiconductors, soft polymers, biodegradable metals, and organic materials. Silicon-based compounds have represented the traditional materials in medical devices, due to the fully established fabrication processes. Examples include miniaturized sensors for monitoring intraocular pressure and blood pressure, which are designed in an ultra-thin diaphragm to react with the applied pressure. These sensors are integrated into rigid circuits and multiple modules; this brings challenges regarding the fundamental material’s property mismatch with the targeted human tissues, which are intrinsically soft. Therefore, many polymeric materials have been investigated for hybrid integration with well-characterized functional materials such as silicon membranes and metal interconnects, which enable soft implantable bioelectronics. The most recent trend in implantable systems uses transient materials that naturally dissolve in body fluid after a programmed lifetime. Such biodegradable metallic materials are advantageous in the design of electronics due to their proven electrical properties. Collectively, this review delivers the development history of materials in implantable devices, while introducing new bioelectronics based on bioresorbable materials with multiple functionalities.
Highlights
In recent years, a variety of low-profile electronics have been developed for body implantable medical devices [1], such as the pacemaker, cardiac defibrillator, bladder stimulator, cochlear implants, and biosensors for the monitoring of pressure, flow, strain, and chemical sensors [2,3,4,5,6]
This review focuses on trends in the development of electronic materials that are being used in implantable bioelectronics
The recent development of implantable biomedical devices has been accompanied by rapid advances in both organic and inorganic functional materials
Summary
A variety of low-profile electronics have been developed for body implantable medical devices [1], such as the pacemaker, cardiac defibrillator, bladder stimulator, cochlear implants, and biosensors for the monitoring of pressure, flow, strain, and chemical sensors [2,3,4,5,6]. The most recent achievements include the finding of biodegradable metallic materials and their use in implantable systems with great electrical properties and functionalities These devices can be programmed in a way that naturally dissolve in the body due to the controlled material’s density and inherent solubility in fluid. The various types of materials that are being used in medical devices and their key properties are summarized, and device functionalities and current challenges are discussed
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