3D‐Printed Gastric Resident Electronics

Abstract

Long‐term implantation of biomedical electronics into the human body enables advanced diagnostic and therapeutic functionalities. However, most long‐term resident electronics devices require invasive procedures for implantation as well as a specialized receiver for communication. Here, a gastric resident electronic (GRE) system that leverages the anatomical space offered by the gastric environment to enable residence of an orally delivered platform of such devices within the human body is presented. The GRE is capable of directly interfacing with portable consumer personal electronics through Bluetooth, a widely adopted wireless protocol. In contrast to the passive day‐long gastric residence achieved with prior ingestible electronics, advancement in multimaterial prototyping enables the GRE to reside in the hostile gastric environment for a maximum of 36 d and maintain ≈15 d of wireless electronics communications as evidenced by the studies in a porcine model. Indeed, the synergistic integration of reconfigurable gastric‐residence structure, drug release modules, and wireless electronics could ultimately enable the next‐generation remote diagnostic and automated therapeutic strategies.

Nanomaterial Patterning in 3D Printing

“…A single printer can produce thousands of different designs without molds, dies, or masks. This capability advances the field of medicine with the invention of personalized biomedical devices such as hip replacement implants,134 dental implants,135 ingestible electronics,136–138 and magnetic resonance imaging compatible devices139 that can potentially address significant unmet clinical needs 50,140–142. This also enables the creation of complex 3D geometry for applications in the aerospace143,144 and automotive144 industries, which are otherwise challenging to fabricate and assemble through traditional methods.…”

Additive Manufacturing of Precision Biomaterials

“…With the increasing interest in digital health and in situ patient monitoring, implantable electronics are being developed as advanced diagnostics as well as for the development of novel therapies . Multimaterial AM can be used in these approaches to produce devices with specific geometries that enable tunable drug release in response to remote‐controlled stimuli.…”

“…Multimaterial AM can be used in these approaches to produce devices with specific geometries that enable tunable drug release in response to remote‐controlled stimuli. One such demonstration applied AM to fabricate a wireless gastric resident electronic (GRE) device that controlled the release of drugs via communication with external controls (Figure d) . Further, a two‐armed architecture incorporated in the GRE device was initially compressed and then expanded upon immersion in the stomach fluid, preventing passage through the pylorus.…”

Robotics in the Gut

“…b) A 3D printed electronic device that can expand its arms to reside in a swine stomach for over a month for drug delivery and temperature sensing. Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2018, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. c) An ingestible hydrogel device that can swell rapidly while maintaining mechanical robustness for gastric retention for up to 1 month.…”

“…Also, various robotic structures have been prototyped to capacitate minimally invasive surgery in the gut . In addition, several ingestible robot prototypes utilized the narrow passage through the pylorus for gastric retention, enabling prolonged drug delivery or gut health monitoring …”