Customizable High-density Microelectrode Arrays for Murine Cardiac Electrophysiology

Introduction: Mouse models offer robust approaches to study cardiac physiology and pathophysiology in part due to the ability to manipulate their genome. Traditional methods for recording murine cardiac electrophysiologic (EP) data involve electrocardiograms and small catheters in vivo which provide limited spatial resolution, or optical mapping ex vivo which requires electromechanical uncoupling. Objective: To develop high-density microelectrode arrays for high-fidelity, high-resolution recording of murine cardiac EP data. Methods u0026 Results: We have developed high-density microelectrode arrays for recording unipolar electrocardiograms and pacing from the epicardial surface of the murine heart (Fig. 1A). These arrays are composed of a thin-film polymer with a grid of addressable electrode sites. The highly flexible polymer substrate maintains conformal contact with the heart as it beats. The design space for the arrays include grid dimensions from approximately 200 μm to 8 cm and 16 to 512 electrodes, wit...