 Professor Wentai Liu from the University of California, Santa Cruz gave a talk at IME on 29 October 2007 on “Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems: Bridging Engineering, Medicine and Biology”.
Microelectronic systems that mimic biological functionality have a wide range of applications spanning from understanding the highly complex biological systems to treating intractable diseases such as deafness, blindness and paralysis. Research in these areas has progressed rapidly in recent years fueled by the unique interdisciplinary efforts fusing engineering, medicine and biology.
At his talk, Prof. Liu presented the opportunities, challenges and the enabling platform technology associated with this highly interdisciplinary field. This includes biocompatible electrodes, implantable microelectronics, wireless telemetry, bio-signal processing algorithms, miniaturised 3D packaging and energy scavenging.
Prof. Liu also shared with the audience some examples of his research and clinical trial results. These projects include Retinal Prosthesis, Wireless Power and Data Telemetry for Biomedical Implants, Brain Machine Interface for studying shark movements, Neural Prosthesis for Spinal Cord Injury and Hybrid Microstimulator for Facial Nerve Palsy.
Prof. Liu is a professor in the electrical engineering department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he is campus director of the NSF Engineering Research Center on Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems. Since its early stages, he has been leading the engineering efforts of the retinal prosthesis to restore vision, finally leading to successful preliminary implant tests in blind patients. |
