(December 23) Soft Electronics in Bioengineering for Hard Problems in Biomedicine

Breakthroughs in biomedicine often follow from advances in technology and methodology. Conventional electronic devices interfaced with the mammalian body are rigid and bulky. Biological organs and systems, by contrast, are soft, elastic and curved. The recent research and development have established the materials and manufacturing foundations for a new class of soft electronic interface technologies that overcome this fundamental mismatch in mechanics and form. These technologies enable intimate, non-invasive integration of sensors and actuators, directly with biological organs, in ways that are impossible with conventional, rigid, planar device technologies. This talk will introduce recent advances in soft electronics that can be applied for advanced healthcare and neuroscience research. The talk will focus on our research on 1) skin electronics that can be conformally and intimately integrated with the skin, and 2) wireless optofluidic neural systems for optogenetics and in vivo pharmacology. Potential applications of soft electronics will be also discussed.