A group of scientists has successfully tested a graphene "tattoo" that can help treat rats with a slow-paced heartbeat, ScienceNews reports.
The device, which works similarly to a pacemaker, provides electrical signals to the heart to keep it in perfect rhythm.
According to Igor Efimov, a cardiovascular engineer at Northwestern University in Chicago, while the device is currently in the proof-of-concept stage, a human version might be ready for testing within five years.
Graphene for Biomedical Use
This is not the first time we have looked at the application of graphene in the medical field, and Tech Times released a story about a novel graphene-based respiratory virus testing device in late March.
This gadget can detect the presence of COVID-19 and flu viruses at far lower levels and much faster than standard tests for either.
But what is graphene? Graphene is a single sheet of carbon atoms organized in a honeycomb pattern. Graphene is a Nobel Prize-winning scientific discovery in 2010 that utilized carbon in such a flat form and with exceptional characteristics deriving from quantum physics.
Why graphene? Dmitry Kireev, a biomedical engineer at the University of Texas at Austin who developed the graphene tattoos, says the material is "atomically thin," unlike the metal components commonly used in electronics.
According to Nai-Chang Yeh, a Caltech physicist, graphene is biocompatible, mechanically robust, very transparent, and highly conductive, making it a perfect material for biomedical usage.
How the Device Is Made
ScienceNews tells us that a translucent layer of graphene is placed between layers of stretchable silicone and ultrathin polymer in the tattoo.
The graphene is connected to cables that run to a power source, which sends electricity through the gadget. The device was tested on mouse hearts and inside living rats, where it could fix an erratic heartbeat.
Finding a means to connect stiff electronics with soft, often pulsating tissues is one of the problems of developing implanted devices.
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Doctors insert electrodes on long cables via a vein inside the heart for most pacemakers. However, the cables flex over time, and the apparatus eventually breaks. The researchers explain that one possibility is to utilize ultrathin materials that move with the heart, similar to how plastic wrap adheres to quivering Jell-O.
You can read more about the study here.
Future iterations of the device, according to Efimov, would be wireless, employing a tiny antenna to take up electrical impulses from an external device placed on a person's chest. He imagines graphene electrodes the size of rice grains inserted into heart muscle, performing pacemaker functions without the usual bulky components.
The gadget can change how pacemakers are manufactured and put in, making them less invasive and more effective. The technology will then be tested in humans, which might happen within the next three years.
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