Transcatheter Self‐Powered Ultrasensitive Endocardial Pressure Sensor

TLDR

Endocardial pressure changes are clinically important for heart‑failure patients, yet current invasive monitoring is costly and unsuitable for continuous, long‑term data collection. This study introduces a miniaturized, flexible, self‑powered endocardial pressure sensor based on a triboelectric nanogenerator integrated into a surgical catheter for minimally invasive implantation. In a porcine model, the sensor was implanted into the left ventricle and left atrium to record pressure. The sensor demonstrated ultrasensitive, real‑time monitoring with high mechanical stability, excellent linearity (R² = 0.997, sensitivity = 1.195 mV mmHg⁻¹), accurate detection of low‑ and high‑pressure ranges, and the ability to identify arrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation and premature contractions, indicating promise for miniature implantable cardiovascular diagnostics.

Abstract

Abstract Changes in endocardial pressure (EP) have important clinical significance for heart failure patients with impaired cardiac function. As a vital parameter for evaluating cardiac function, EP is commonly monitored by invasive and expensive cardiac catheterization, which is not feasible for long‐term and continuous data collection. In this work, a miniaturized, flexible, and self‐powered endocardial pressure sensor (SEPS) based on triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which is integrated with a surgical catheter for minimally invasive implantation, is reported. In a porcine model, SEPS is implanted into the left ventricle and the left atrium. The SEPS has a good response both in low‐ and high‐pressure environments. The SEPS achieves the ultrasensitivity, real‐time monitoring, and mechanical stability in vivo. An excellent linearity ( R 2 = 0.997) with a sensitivity of 1.195 mV mmHg −1 is obtained. Furthermore, cardiac arrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation and ventricular premature contraction can also be detected by SEPS. The device may promote the development of miniature implantable medical sensors for monitoring and diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases.