ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses different types of implantable devices in their current commercial rigid forms, current cutting-edge research, and what necessitates emerging compliant devices towards advanced flexible high-performing devices. It also discusses the recent advances in different proposed implantable devices for a multitude of applications from brain-mapping, retinal implants, to neural interfaces/prosthetics and their challenges and outlook. Implantable medical devices have had a presence of over 6 decades in the commercial and medical field in different forms. The heart is a small four-chambered muscular lump that receives and pumps blood to the systemic and pulmonary circulatory system of the human body. The pumping mechanism of the heart is regulated by cardiac muscle cells that are of two kinds—pacemaker cells and non-pacemaker cells. Irregular heart rhythms also known as cardiac arrhythmias need significant attentions in a timely manner as the chronic condition leads to weakening of the cardiac muscles over a prolonged time.
