{
  "id": 91947,
  "title": "Soft optical sensor offers new way to map the heart and brain",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/soft-optical-sensor-offers-new-way-to-map-the-heart-and-brain",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-03T15:20:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-soft-optical-sensor-heart-brain.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cardiac and neurological conditions often require continuous monitoring of organ activity for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. Conventional electronic systems typically employ electrodes directly attached to the organ site, posing risks such as tissue damage, scarring, and rejection of the implant. A research team from UNSW School of Biomedical Engineering has developed a novel soft optical sensor that surpasses these challenges.\n\nThis fully flexible optrode converts the body's electrical signals into light signals, mimicking the softness of human tissue. The device's developers claim a 98.4% viability rate, hinting at its potential for safer, less invasive monitoring technologies. The research was published in npj Flexible Electronics, where they describe the sensor's ability to deliver clearer and more precise insights into electrical activity within the human body.\n\nBioelectronic implants, designed to monitor electrical signals from organs like the heart and brain, are currently used in healthcare settings. However, they are usually constructed with rigid materials such as silicon and metal, causing mechanical mismatches with soft, constantly moving organs, which can lead to tissue damage, scarring, and even organ rejection. Additionally, metal wires in these implants can break or pick up environmental electrical noise, compromising data quality.\n\nThe soft optrode developed by the UNSW team overcomes these challenges by using soft, high-performance polymers and a specialized conductive polymer that remains functional even after being bent 10,000 times. Sandwiched within the polymer is a layer of highly sensitive liquid crystals capable of detecting amplitudes at submillivolt levels – similar to those produced by the brain and heart. The liquid crystals orient their angle depending on the signal's amplitude, converting it into quantifiable optical outputs without the need for local electronics or bulky wires at the tissue site.\n\nThe device's ability to scale down to just tens of microns – about half the width of a human hair – without losing signal quality or introducing additional electrical noise is a significant breakthrough. The researchers also tested the flexibility optrode in cell cultures, finding no signs of toxicity or contamination, suggesting that the device does not harm cells. This result is particularly encouraging as silicon-based controls used in current biomonitoring devices are thicker and more rigid, potentially inhibiting cell growth and function.\n\nThe research team is actively working to commercialize the technology through a spin-off company, Sevren Pty Ltd, founded by Professor Nigel Lovell and Professor Francois Ladouceur from UNSW School of Biomedical Engineering. The next steps include further in vivo studies to enhance signal resolution and improve the sensitivity of the device, potentially allowing it to detect signals at the micron level, even those of individual neurons. Furthermore, the technology could be adapted for monitoring the gut, muscles, or individual cells, expanding the bandwidth of signal detection beyond 10 kilohertz.",
  "summary": "For people living with cardiac or neurological conditions, monitoring organ activity is an important part of diagnosis and treatment. But existing technology relies heavily on electrically based systems that often require a network of electrodes to be attached directly to the organ site.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}