Advanced Implantable Medical Devices For Diagnosis, Monitoring, And Treatment

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editors

Shinae Kim

ADA Science & Research Institute, LLC

Dr. Shinae Kim is a biomedical engineer who is an expert in developing microscale implantable sensors for clinical and biological applications. As a project leader at American Dental Association Science & Research Institute (ADASRI), she is currently developing an implantable sensor that can continuously monitor long-term gum disease prognosis. Using her multidisciplinary experience, she plans to integrate electrical, electrochemical, and optical methods to develop an advanced implantable device that can perform multifunctional readouts of in vivo biological or clinical signal. Dr. Kim received PhD in Electrical Engineering from Seoul National University in South Korea and completed postdoctoral training from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Hongchul Sohn

Northwestern University, Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences

Dr. Hongchul Sohn is a research assistant professor at the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences at Northwestern University, USA. He received his B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Seoul National University and his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. His research focuses on understanding how the human nervous system generates purposeful motor actions, and how that ability is altered by neuromuscular injury and disease. In long-term, this work is aimed at developing enhanced neurorehabilitation techniques for individuals with compromised sensorimotor function after neurological injury.

Collection Overview

Ever since the first successful implantation of a cardiac pacemaker in 1958, the development of implantable devices has led major breakthroughs and technological advancements in many fields such as materials, manufacturing, and design, and ultimately in medicine. Nowadays, various types of implantable medical devices are deployed and used in the daily lives of many for better diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of numerous diseases and disorders. Nevertheless, challenges remain for the development of more safe, robust, and effective implantable devices to deliver precise, personalized medicine. Areas of particular importance that require further focus include the development of biocompatible materials, identification of novel design and manufacturing methods, and compatibility to surgical procedures. One solution that has been recently introduced to the field is biocompatible polymer materials (e.g., biodegradable polymers, flexible or stretchable polymers, conductive polymers, hydrogel-elastomer hybrids, adhesive polymers) that can be easily fabricated into many forms such as films, fibers, textiles, and solids. Advanced manufacturing technologies like 2D and 3D printing, nano-/micro-fabrication, and hermetic packaging techniques are also promising. Additionally, low-power operation, fast wireless data transferring technique, computational simulation, automation using AI, and robotic-assisted surgery are new areas that can be leveraged to advance the field. This methods collection aims to collect and share highlights of advanced technologies and methods, and to effectively communicate standardized protocols and existing engineering methods in implantable medical devices.