The biomedical industry is a key growth engine for the Singapore economy. Microelectronics provides key and striking opportunities for advancing biomedical research and creating new markets. The medical technology sector is a significant part of Singapore's fast-growing biomedical sciences industry. In 2009, the industry contributed S$3 bn to Singapore's total manufacturing output and has attracted numerous leading medtech companies to establish their R&D centers and manufacturing facilities in the country.
IME's Bioelectronics Programme is poised to make rapid intellectual and economic impact in the bioelectronics arena, by leveraging on its expertise across the entire value chain of microelectronics and know-how accumulated over the years through collaborative projects with local universities, research institutes, and industry. The R&D efforts of the programme have evolved into two main thrusts: Point-of-Care (POC) diagnostics devices and drug discovery devices.
Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostics
Devices and systems that can detect clinically-significant disease markers non-invasively (from a fingerprick for example) and rapidly, are foreseen to critically impact healthcare. The specific needs for such systems and ultimately for an integrated programme has arisen through discussions with various end-users of IME's technologies, and more particularly clinicians. All these undertakings are constantly reshaped via direct interaction with experts from prominent centers, potential end users, such as Tan Tock Seng Hospital, National University Hospital System , Duke-NUS for infectious diseases, National Heart Center and Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium. Specifically, doctors ask for POC systems to diagnose infectious diseases (dengue), cardiovascular diseases (acute myocardial infarction or heart attack), and cancer (gastric).
Since the inception of the programme, many of the projects have spawned individual micromodules for nucleic acid analysis, particularly for sample preparation and amplification, thereby preparing the groundwork for an integrated point-of-care diagnostic unit. On the other end of the process, the programme has developed biosensor modules for sample detection that shows high sensitivity and repeatability and can be easily integrated with the upstream modules. Among the modalities investigated for the detection of macromolecules such as nucleic acids and proteins, research has focused mainly on a label-free electrical detection method utilising the intrinsic electrical charge of molecules as a native label. From these modules, research activities are now focused on integrating all the necessary functions in simple complete systems that will be easily implemented near the patient.
Cell-Based Diagnosis
Molecular-Based Diagnosis
Drug Discovery Devices
With its strong competencies in robust CMOS processes and Si nanotechnology, IME leads the bioelectronics field in developing manufacturable yet reproducible biochips and fluidic microsystems for automated and fast drug discovery. Its close collaborations with industry partners, such as Panasonic Electronic Devices, and research institutes from A*STAR's Biomedical Research Council have enabled it to maintain a rapid pace of innovation, resulting in novel research ideas such as a microfluidic device for patch-clamp. |
