Distributed sensor and actuator networks for closed-loop bioelectronic medicine

• Published in: Materials today (Kidlington, England) Vol. 46; pp. 125 - 135
• Main Authors: Bhave, Gauri, Chen, Joshua C., Singer, Amanda, Sharma, Aditi, Robinson, Jacob T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2021
• ISSN: 1369-7021; 1873-4103
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.2020.12.020

[Display omitted] Designing implantable bioelectronic systems that continuously monitor physiological functions and simultaneously provide personalized therapeutic solutions for patients remains a persistent challenge across many applications ranging from neural systems to bioelectronic organs. Closed-loop systems typically consist of three functional blocks, namely, sensors, signal processors and actuators. An effective system, that can provide the necessary therapeutics, tailored to individual physiological factors requires a distributed network of sensors and actuators. While significant progress has been made, closed-loop systems still face many challenges before they can truly be considered as long-term solutions for many diseases. In this review, we consider three important criteria where materials play a critical role to enable implantable closed-loop systems: Specificity, Biocompatibility and Connectivity. We look at the progress made in each of these fields with respect to a specific application and outline the challenges in creating bioelectronic technologies for the future.