Tissue-Adhesive Piezoelectric Soft Sensor for In Vivo Blood Pressure Monitoring During Surgical Operation

Abstract

The reliable function in vivo of self-powered implantable bioelectric devices (iBEDs) requires biocompatible, seamless, effective interactions with biological tissues. Herein, an implantable tissue-adhesive piezoelectric soft sensor (TPSS), in which the piezoelectric sensor converts biomechanical signals into electrical signals, and the adhesive hydrogel (AH) strengthens this conversion by seamlessly adhering the sensor on the wet and curvilinear surface, is proposed. The optimized AH exhibits strong adhesion to various organic or inorganic surfaces, including six commonly used engineering materials and three biological tissues. As a pressure sensor, TPSS proves good in vitro electrical performance with a high output of 8.3 V, long-term stability of over 6000 cycles, and high energy power density of 186.9 µW m−2. In a large animal experiment, TPSS seamlessly adheres to the right-side internal carotid artery of a Yorkshire pig to monitor blood pressure during a surgical operation. Compared to commercial sensors that work by inserting into tissues, TPSS does not cause any damage and can be peeled off after service. The integration of adhesive hydrogel and self-powered pressure sensors enables biocompatible, seamless, and more efficient interactions between the biological system and iBEDs, which also contributes to next-generation implantable bioelectronics with features of battery-free, intelligent, and accurate.