Biodegradable Electronic Stimulator for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration
Jahyun Koo
School of Biomedical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
Interdisciplinary Program in Precision Public Health, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
jahyunkoo@korea.ac.kr
Abstract
Biodegradable electronic stimulators have rapidly high interest as unusual therapeutic platforms, as a type of implantable devices, for treating disease states, accelerating wound healing processes and eliminating infections. Here, we present advanced materials that support required modes of operation over clinically relevant timeframes, and then harmlessly biodegrade to yield benign products without residues, thereby eliminating the need for surgical extraction. Our findings overcome key challenges of biodegradable electronic devices by extending operational lifetimes that create novel clinical protocols. This technology enables long-term electrical stimulation wirelessly on an injured peripheral nerve site and brings great outcome for regeneration.
The devices constitute of biodegradable radio frequency coil to harvest energy, electrode to deliver therapeutic stimulation, active components (e.g., diode). We describe the underlying features and chemical design considerations for this polymer, and the biocompatibility of the constituent materials and their ability to provide a stable, long-lived operation demonstrates the potential for maintaining muscle receptivity and enhancing functional recoveries.
Short Bio
Jahyun Koo is an assistant professor in School of Biomedical Engineering at Korea University. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Nuclear & Quantum Engineering from KAIST, Korea (2010 and 2012, respectively). He received his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from KAIST, Korea (2017). He was visiting researcher in Materials Research Laboratory at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC; 2015-2016). He was post-doc. in Center for Bio-Integrated Electronics at Northwestern University (2017-2020). His research interests include biodegradable device, implantable electronics, and alloy design of biodegradable materials.