Millimetre-scale bioresorbable optoelectronic systems for electrotherapy

Yamin Zhang; Eric Rytkin; Liangsong Zeng; Jong Uk Kim; Lichao Tang; Haohui Zhang; Aleksei Mikhailov; Kaiyu Zhao; Yue Wang; Li Ding; Xinyue Lu; Anastasia Lantsova; Elena Aprea; Gengming Jiang; Shupeng Li; Seung Gi Seo; Tong Wang; Jin Wang; Jiayang Liu; Jianyu Gu; Fei Liu; Keith Bailey; Yat Fung Larry Li; Amy Burrell; Anna Pfenniger; Andrey Ardashev; Tianyu Yang; Naijia Liu; Zengyao Lv; Nathan S. Purwanto; Yue Ying; Yinsheng Lu; Claire Hoepfner; Altynai Melisova; Jiarui Gong; Jinheon Jeong; Junhwan Choi; Alex Hou; Rachel Nolander; Wubin Bai; Sung Hun Jin; Zhenqiang Ma; John M. Torkelson; Yonggang Huang; Wei Ouyang; Rishi K. Arora; Igor R. Efimov; John A. Rogers

doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08726-4

Millimetre-scale bioresorbable optoelectronic systems for electrotherapy

Yamin Zhang^*, Eric Rytkin, Liangsong Zeng, Jong Uk Kim, Lichao Tang, Haohui Zhang, Aleksei Mikhailov, Kaiyu Zhao, Yue Wang, Li Ding, Xinyue Lu, Anastasia Lantsova, Elena Aprea, Gengming Jiang, Shupeng Li, Seung Gi Seo, Tong Wang, Jin Wang, Jiayang Liu, Jianyu GuFei Liu, Keith Bailey, Yat Fung Larry Li, Amy Burrell, Anna Pfenniger, Andrey Ardashev, Tianyu Yang, Naijia Liu, Zengyao Lv, Nathan S. Purwanto, Yue Ying, Yinsheng Lu, Claire Hoepfner, Altynai Melisova, Jiarui Gong, Jinheon Jeong, Junhwan Choi, Alex Hou, Rachel Nolander, Wubin Bai, Sung Hun Jin, Zhenqiang Ma, John M. Torkelson, Yonggang Huang^*, Wei Ouyang^*, Rishi K. Arora^*, Igor R. Efimov^*, John A. Rogers^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Temporary pacemakers are essential for the care of patients with short-lived bradycardia in post-operative and other settings^{1, 2, 3–4}. Conventional devices require invasive open-heart surgery or less invasive endovascular surgery, both of which are challenging for paediatric and adult patients^{5, 6, 7–8}. Other complications^{9, 10–11} include risks of infections, lacerations and perforations of the myocardium, and of displacements of external power supplies and control systems. Here we introduce a millimetre-scale bioresorbable optoelectronic system with an onboard power supply and a wireless, optical control mechanism with generalized capabilities in electrotherapy and specific application opportunities in temporary cardiac pacing. The extremely small sizes of these devices enable minimally invasive implantation, including percutaneous injection and endovascular delivery. Experimental studies demonstrate effective pacing in mouse, rat, porcine, canine and human cardiac models at both single-site and multi-site locations. Pairing with a skin-interfaced wireless device allows autonomous, closed-loop operation upon detection of arrhythmias. Further work illustrates opportunities in combining these miniaturized devices with other medical implants, with an example of arrays of pacemakers for individual or collective use on the frames of transcatheter aortic valve replacement systems, to provide unique solutions that address risks for atrioventricular block following surgeries. This base technology can be readily adapted for a broad range of additional applications in electrotherapy, such as nerve and bone regeneration, wound therapy and pain management.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	1821
Pages (from-to)	77-86
Number of pages	10
Journal	Nature
Volume	640
Issue number	8057
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08726-4
State	Published - Apr 3 2025

Funding

We acknowledge support from the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, the Leducq Foundation grant \u2018Bioelectronics for Neurocardiology\u2019 and the NIH grant (NIH R01 HL141470). Y.Z. acknowledges support from the National University of Singapore start-up grant and the AHA\u2019s Second Century Early Faculty Independence Award (grant: https://doi.org/10.58275/AHA.23SCEFIA1154076.pc.gr.173925 ). J. Gong and Z.M. acknowledge the support from AFOSR (grant number FA9550-21-1-0081). We thank E. Dempsey, Q. Ma, N. Ghoreishi-Haack, I. Stepien and S. Han for the help in the biocompatibility study and animal experiment. This work made use of the NUFAB facility of Northwestern University\u2019s NUANCE Center, which has received support from the SHyNE Resource (NSF ECCS-2025633), the IIN and Northwestern\u2019s MRSEC programme (NSF DMR-1720139). This work was supported by the Developmental Therapeutics Core and the Center for Advanced Molecular Imaging (RRID:SCR_021192) at Northwestern University and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center support grant (NCI P30 CA060553).

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10.1038/s41586-025-08726-4

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Zhang, Y., Rytkin, E., Zeng, L., Kim, J. U., Tang, L., Zhang, H., Mikhailov, A., Zhao, K., Wang, Y., Ding, L., Lu, X., Lantsova, A., Aprea, E., Jiang, G., Li, S., Seo, S. G., Wang, T., Wang, J., Liu, J., ... Rogers, J. A. (2025). Millimetre-scale bioresorbable optoelectronic systems for electrotherapy. Nature, 640(8057), 77-86. Article 1821. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08726-4

@article{7a48be810ab5407789938bcff9a3425b,

title = "Millimetre-scale bioresorbable optoelectronic systems for electrotherapy",

abstract = "Temporary pacemakers are essential for the care of patients with short-lived bradycardia in post-operative and other settings1, 2, 3–4. Conventional devices require invasive open-heart surgery or less invasive endovascular surgery, both of which are challenging for paediatric and adult patients5, 6, 7–8. Other complications9, 10–11 include risks of infections, lacerations and perforations of the myocardium, and of displacements of external power supplies and control systems. Here we introduce a millimetre-scale bioresorbable optoelectronic system with an onboard power supply and a wireless, optical control mechanism with generalized capabilities in electrotherapy and specific application opportunities in temporary cardiac pacing. The extremely small sizes of these devices enable minimally invasive implantation, including percutaneous injection and endovascular delivery. Experimental studies demonstrate effective pacing in mouse, rat, porcine, canine and human cardiac models at both single-site and multi-site locations. Pairing with a skin-interfaced wireless device allows autonomous, closed-loop operation upon detection of arrhythmias. Further work illustrates opportunities in combining these miniaturized devices with other medical implants, with an example of arrays of pacemakers for individual or collective use on the frames of transcatheter aortic valve replacement systems, to provide unique solutions that address risks for atrioventricular block following surgeries. This base technology can be readily adapted for a broad range of additional applications in electrotherapy, such as nerve and bone regeneration, wound therapy and pain management.",

author = "Yamin Zhang and Eric Rytkin and Liangsong Zeng and Kim, \{Jong Uk\} and Lichao Tang and Haohui Zhang and Aleksei Mikhailov and Kaiyu Zhao and Yue Wang and Li Ding and Xinyue Lu and Anastasia Lantsova and Elena Aprea and Gengming Jiang and Shupeng Li and Seo, \{Seung Gi\} and Tong Wang and Jin Wang and Jiayang Liu and Jianyu Gu and Fei Liu and Keith Bailey and Li, \{Yat Fung Larry\} and Amy Burrell and Anna Pfenniger and Andrey Ardashev and Tianyu Yang and Naijia Liu and Zengyao Lv and Purwanto, \{Nathan S.\} and Yue Ying and Yinsheng Lu and Claire Hoepfner and Altynai Melisova and Jiarui Gong and Jinheon Jeong and Junhwan Choi and Alex Hou and Rachel Nolander and Wubin Bai and Jin, \{Sung Hun\} and Zhenqiang Ma and Torkelson, \{John M.\} and Yonggang Huang and Wei Ouyang and Arora, \{Rishi K.\} and Efimov, \{Igor R.\} and Rogers, \{John A.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2025.",

year = "2025",

month = apr,

day = "3",

doi = "10.1038/s41586-025-08726-4",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "640",

pages = "77--86",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "0028-0836",

publisher = "Nature Research",

number = "8057",

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Zhang, Y, Rytkin, E, Zeng, L, Kim, JU, Tang, L, Zhang, H, Mikhailov, A, Zhao, K, Wang, Y, Ding, L, Lu, X, Lantsova, A, Aprea, E, Jiang, G, Li, S, Seo, SG, Wang, T, Wang, J, Liu, J, Gu, J, Liu, F, Bailey, K, Li, YFL, Burrell, A, Pfenniger, A, Ardashev, A, Yang, T, Liu, N, Lv, Z, Purwanto, NS, Ying, Y, Lu, Y, Hoepfner, C, Melisova, A, Gong, J, Jeong, J, Choi, J, Hou, A, Nolander, R, Bai, W, Jin, SH, Ma, Z, Torkelson, JM , Huang, Y, Ouyang, W, Arora, RK, Efimov, IR & Rogers, JA 2025, 'Millimetre-scale bioresorbable optoelectronic systems for electrotherapy', Nature, vol. 640, no. 8057, 1821, pp. 77-86. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08726-4

TY - JOUR

T1 - Millimetre-scale bioresorbable optoelectronic systems for electrotherapy

AU - Zhang, Yamin

AU - Rytkin, Eric

AU - Zeng, Liangsong

AU - Kim, Jong Uk

AU - Tang, Lichao

AU - Zhang, Haohui

AU - Mikhailov, Aleksei

AU - Zhao, Kaiyu

AU - Wang, Yue

AU - Ding, Li

AU - Lu, Xinyue

AU - Lantsova, Anastasia

AU - Aprea, Elena

AU - Jiang, Gengming

AU - Li, Shupeng

AU - Seo, Seung Gi

AU - Wang, Tong

AU - Wang, Jin

AU - Liu, Jiayang

AU - Gu, Jianyu

AU - Liu, Fei

AU - Bailey, Keith

AU - Li, Yat Fung Larry

AU - Burrell, Amy

AU - Pfenniger, Anna

AU - Ardashev, Andrey

AU - Yang, Tianyu

AU - Liu, Naijia

AU - Lv, Zengyao

AU - Purwanto, Nathan S.

AU - Ying, Yue

AU - Lu, Yinsheng

AU - Hoepfner, Claire

AU - Melisova, Altynai

AU - Gong, Jiarui

AU - Jeong, Jinheon

AU - Choi, Junhwan

AU - Hou, Alex

AU - Nolander, Rachel

AU - Bai, Wubin

AU - Jin, Sung Hun

AU - Ma, Zhenqiang

AU - Torkelson, John M.

AU - Huang, Yonggang

AU - Ouyang, Wei

AU - Arora, Rishi K.

AU - Efimov, Igor R.

AU - Rogers, John A.

PY - 2025/4/3

Y1 - 2025/4/3

N2 - Temporary pacemakers are essential for the care of patients with short-lived bradycardia in post-operative and other settings1, 2, 3–4. Conventional devices require invasive open-heart surgery or less invasive endovascular surgery, both of which are challenging for paediatric and adult patients5, 6, 7–8. Other complications9, 10–11 include risks of infections, lacerations and perforations of the myocardium, and of displacements of external power supplies and control systems. Here we introduce a millimetre-scale bioresorbable optoelectronic system with an onboard power supply and a wireless, optical control mechanism with generalized capabilities in electrotherapy and specific application opportunities in temporary cardiac pacing. The extremely small sizes of these devices enable minimally invasive implantation, including percutaneous injection and endovascular delivery. Experimental studies demonstrate effective pacing in mouse, rat, porcine, canine and human cardiac models at both single-site and multi-site locations. Pairing with a skin-interfaced wireless device allows autonomous, closed-loop operation upon detection of arrhythmias. Further work illustrates opportunities in combining these miniaturized devices with other medical implants, with an example of arrays of pacemakers for individual or collective use on the frames of transcatheter aortic valve replacement systems, to provide unique solutions that address risks for atrioventricular block following surgeries. This base technology can be readily adapted for a broad range of additional applications in electrotherapy, such as nerve and bone regeneration, wound therapy and pain management.

AB - Temporary pacemakers are essential for the care of patients with short-lived bradycardia in post-operative and other settings1, 2, 3–4. Conventional devices require invasive open-heart surgery or less invasive endovascular surgery, both of which are challenging for paediatric and adult patients5, 6, 7–8. Other complications9, 10–11 include risks of infections, lacerations and perforations of the myocardium, and of displacements of external power supplies and control systems. Here we introduce a millimetre-scale bioresorbable optoelectronic system with an onboard power supply and a wireless, optical control mechanism with generalized capabilities in electrotherapy and specific application opportunities in temporary cardiac pacing. The extremely small sizes of these devices enable minimally invasive implantation, including percutaneous injection and endovascular delivery. Experimental studies demonstrate effective pacing in mouse, rat, porcine, canine and human cardiac models at both single-site and multi-site locations. Pairing with a skin-interfaced wireless device allows autonomous, closed-loop operation upon detection of arrhythmias. Further work illustrates opportunities in combining these miniaturized devices with other medical implants, with an example of arrays of pacemakers for individual or collective use on the frames of transcatheter aortic valve replacement systems, to provide unique solutions that address risks for atrioventricular block following surgeries. This base technology can be readily adapted for a broad range of additional applications in electrotherapy, such as nerve and bone regeneration, wound therapy and pain management.

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JO - Nature

JF - Nature

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M1 - 1821

ER -

Millimetre-scale bioresorbable optoelectronic systems for electrotherapy

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