Continuous monitoring of cardiovascular function with a smart stent incorporating a flexible and stretchable wireless pressure sensor

The development of smart stents, capable of monitoring cardiovascular diseases and communicating vascular abnormalities to medical doctors, has garnered significant attention in the field of biomedical engineering. Various ex-situ fabrication strategies have been proposed to concurrently manufacture the smart stent and pressure sensor, thereby reducing the risk of sensor detachment caused by blood flow. However, the practical utility of these devices is still limited due to the rigidity of the wireless pressure sensor. In this study, we propose a flexible and stretchable smart self-reporting stent that incorporates a wireless pressure sensor. The fabrication process has been optimized to create a serpentine-shaped wireless pressure sensor that matches the shape and flexibility of the polymer stent struts. We thoroughly investigated the structural integrity, resonance frequency, stretchability, flexibility, and radial force of the manufactured smart self-reporting stent under different conditions. The wireless pressure sensor demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.15 MHz mmHg-1, as determined through experimental analysis. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed smart stent, we implanted it into the arteries of a three-dimensional phantom system. The obtained results, combined with the flexible and stretchable nature of the proposed smart self-reporting stent, highlight its potential for effective monitoring of the heart's functional dynamics and detection of in-stent restenosis.