Levent BEKER and his team, through the 2ND-CHANCE Project, aim to develop a device that can be implanted into the patient's body during surgery and is capable of predicting potential cardiac disorders in advance.
BEKER has been supported by supported by TÜBİTAK 2232 - International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers Program in 2019. His project proposal, has received support under the TÜBİTAK ERC Principal Investigator Development Program (EBAG).
Call: ERC-2021-StG
Project Duration: 5 years
Project Acronym: 2ND-CHANCE
Project Title: Implantable sensors and ultrasonic data link with triggered bioresorption for next-gen wireless cardiac monitoring
Project ID: 101043119
Host Institution: Koc University, Türkiye
Panel: PE7 - Systems and Communication Engineering
Related ERC Proof of Concept Project: BladderWatch - Wearable device for continuous bladder volume monitoring
Next-generation dissolvable wireless implant promises to reduce heart failure risks
Post-operative monitoring after heart surgery is critical to survival. However, most techniques do not offer continual monitoring, nor are they available outside hospitals. Implants exist, but they require removal surgery, which puts patients at further risk. The EU-funded 2ND-CHANCE project is developing a next-generation implant that will allow continual monitoring. It will be battery-free and use ultrasonics for wireless connectivity. When no longer necessary, an external light source will activate its harmless dissolution. Not only will this mitigate heart failure risks by providing early warning, it will also entirely eliminate the need for removal surgery. Moreover, the envisioned technology is expected to be applicable to other medical fields.
Objective
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally. Monitoring heart functions and ischemia is critical for survival after cardiac surgery. Standard monitoring methods such as echocardiogram and ELISA blood test provide single-time measurements. They are available only in hospitals, and there is no continuous monitoring method after patients are discharged, leading to a high rate of recurrent heart failures and rehospitalization. Implantable medical devices are used for treatment of various disorders. However, their non-resorbable nature necessitates an implant removal surgery that puts additional risk of infection and stress on patients and limits their use in postoperative monitoring. Bioresorbable implants may soon revolutionize postoperative monitoring methods. The surgeon will implant a small patch onto the heart during surgery, enabling continuous cardiac monitoring and early alerts for heart failure. This will reduce sudden attacks, rehospitalizations, and financial burden of health care. Then, once the monitoring period ends, triggering with a light source will dissolve the implant; thus, providing a significant second chance for the survivors of cardiac failure without the burden of secondary surgery. The technological advancements to bring this vision to the clinic are not available yet. 2ND-CHANCE will facilitate this vision by building components of next-generation wireless implants with triggered bioresorption for cardiac surgery through ground-breaking approaches. This interdisciplinary project aims to develop 1) bioresorbable sensors compatible with the in-body environment, 2) battery-free ultrasonic communication, and 3) encapsulation layer with triggered bioresorption, followed by 4) integration and animal tests. The versatility of the 2ND-CHANCE will also yield potential breakthroughs in fields where monitoring of tissues and biomarkers is crucial such as neurology and ophthalmology, and open new research perspectives.
(Resource: CORDIS)
