CAREER: Implantable Wireless Microsystems for Diagnosis and Management of Glaucoma

低功耗集成电路、无线技术和硅微加工的最新进展为制造用于生物医学应用的微型无线微系统提供了强大的工具。这些微系统在眼科中特别有用，因为眼科的解剖空间有限，需要微型手术器械和植入物。该职业奖的主要研究目标是开发一组植入式无线微系统，用于青光眼的诊断和管理，使用硅微加工和最先进的无线供电和读出技术。两个专门针对的微系统是：1)用于长期（长达一年）监测眼压的无线微系统，2)用于房水引流（房水分流）的无创可调微阀。虽然这一建议针对的是一种特定的疾病，但所研究的科学和所开发的技术将有益于涉及植入式无线微系统的许多其他应用。该项目的教育部分回应了当前许多电气工程系在吸引本科生进入硬件导向和跨学科领域方面所面临的危机。由于其多学科性质，为了解决这一问题，该研究与教育成分密切相关。教育计划包括积极拓展和指导本科电气工程学生，以提高和激发他们对多学科技术职业的兴趣，特别强调微系统技术及其在生物医学工程中的应用。该计划包括将研究活动纳入本科课程，让本科生参与研究，并为二年级和三年级学生开设课间短期课程和研讨会。这些短期课程通过要求最低的先决条件（物理、化学、生物和数学），以尽可能广泛的本科生为目标，旨在强调当前生物医学微系统和其他相关领域的多学科研究。

Recent advances in low-power integrated circuits, wireless technology, and silicon micromachining have provided strong tools for fabricating miniature wireless microsystems for biomedical applications. These microsystems are particularly useful in ophthalmology where limited anatomical space requires miniature surgical instruments and implants. The main research objective of this career award is to develop a group of implantable wireless microsystems for diagnosis and management of glaucoma using silicon micromachining and state-of-the-art wireless powering and readout techniques. The two specifically targeted microsystems are: I) a wireless microsystem for long-term (up to one year) monitoring of intraocular pressure, and 2) a non-invasively adjustable microvalve for the drainage of aqueous humor (aqueous shunt). Although this proposal targets a specific disease, the science to be investigated and the technologies to be developed will be beneficial in many other applications involving implantable wireless microsystems.The educational component of the project responds to the current crisis faced by many electrical engineering departments in attracting undergraduates towards hardware oriented and cross-disciplinary fields. Due to its multidisciplinary nature, the research is intimately tied to the educational component in order to address this problem. The educational plan includes active outreach and mentoring of undergraduate electrical engineering students in order to enhance and stimulate their interest in multidisciplinary technical careers with particular emphasis on microsystem technology and its applications in biomedical engineering. The plan includes incorporating research activities into undergraduate courses, involving undergraduates in the research, and developing inter-session short courses and seminars for sophomores and juniors. These short courses target the widest possible undergraduate audience by requiring the minimum prerequisites (physics, chemistry, biology, and math) and are intended to emphasize the current multidisciplinary research in biomedical microsystems and other related areas.