• bioelectronics
• cardiac pacemaker
• bioresorbable materials
• dual-chamber
• optical filters

Bioresorbable materials have emerged in recent years as a powerful tool for fabricating implantable biomedical devices for short-term applications without secondary surgical extraction and with a reduced risk of infection. A fitting example where these materials are beneficial is the temporary transcutaneous cardiac pacemaker employed during surgical recovery when arrhythmias can occur.

The literature on the bioresorbable version of this type of device, however, does not implement dual-chamber (atrio-ventricular) pacing, which is the gold standard for commercial pacemakers because it restores the normal electrophysiological function of the cardiac conduction system.

Here, a novel method is presented for implementing dual-chamber pacing in a light-triggered cardiac pacemaker prototype through bioresorbable optical filters. The band-stop optical filters have been engineered, fabricated, tested, and integrated with pacing devices and an adhesive interface, with the final aim of selectively activating the atrium or ventricle of the heart by letting through a specific wavelength of light radiation.

The results show that the filters realized can screen the desired wavelengths and that their integration into the device allows the pacing required. Future system developments will take advantage of the filters created to sequentially activate the heart to resemble the activity of cardiac pacemakers used in clinical practice.