3-Axis MEMS accelerometer-based implantable heart monitoring system with novel fixation method

Existing heart monitoring methods have certain drawbacks such as lack of specificity or inability to perform continuous monitoring. An accelerometer attached to the heart wall can provide a very direct measurement of the heart function. This system could provide monitoring during the surgery and for the period after it. Miniaturization of modern commercial off-the-shelf accelerometers makes it possible to repackage these sensors to serve as an implantable heart monitoring system. The compact size also allows implanting the sensor directly into the heart muscle, which was not possible before. This system was fabricated using a 3-axis accelerometer (CMA3000A01 from Murata Electronics Oy, Finland), a custom designed flexible substrate-cable and silicone encapsulation. In this paper the prototype fabrication process is described, early reports from the ongoing trials as well as some conclusion based on those reports are presented.