2019 AIChE Annual Meeting
(467c) Morphing Electronics for Growing Tissue
Author
Li, J. - Presenter, Stanford University
Current state-of-the-art implantable electronics does not yet accommodate the physical growth of the biological tissue and organ during development. Here, we address this limitation with a new approach, namely Morphing Electronics (termed MorphE) that can suitably adapt to the nerve tissue growth during adolescent development in vivo. In specific, we employed viscoplastic electronic materials to minimize the stress and tissue constraint on ratâs growing nerves. Achieved capabilities in water-insensitive and self-healing enabled efficient vertical self-bonding for multilayered MorphE formation, in which it contained viscoplastic electrodes and strain sensors. More importantly, it also allowed for an easy reconfigurable adaptation for individualized implantation procedures. Furthermore, our fabricated soft and form-accommodating MorphE device showed no evident damages on the ratâs growing nerves, thus allowing for a stable functional interface for chronic neural stimulation and monitoring without disruption of ratâs functional behavior.