EFRI BioFlex: Flexible Resorbable Organic and Nanomaterial Therapeutic Systems (FRONTS)

研究人员建议设计、开发和表征用于伤口愈合应用的新型柔性、可吸收纳米材料和设备。这项工作分为三项任务，以支持创伤愈合可吸收系统的工程设计：a)开发含有可吸收的高质量导体(用作互连和电极)的柔性可吸收材料本身；b)开发可吸收的生物兼容电池；c)使用植入的柔性材料--最终可吸收？用于映射和控制内伤口电场伤口坡度的装置。此外，这项工作利用了加州大学旧金山分校在吻合术中关于内部伤口愈合的努力，以及儿科设备协会(www.pediatricdeviceconsortium.org/).Intellectual的丰富经验：当在体内植入治疗性电子结构时，一个关键问题是在治疗效果完成后将其移除。这种移除这种结构的需要在很大程度上限制了电子治疗系统在可能容易移除的应用中的部署。具体地说，将这种装置留在体内通常是不可接受的，因为装置的逐渐降解可能会将大量和大小的有毒物质引入人体。拟议的努力是纳米材料、柔性电子学和医疗电子学的交叉点。这项努力将这些领域的领先研究人员聚集在一起。通过利用每个领域研究人员的世界领先专业知识，这项努力旨在实现医疗电子领域的几项重大创新，包括可吸收导体和可植入、可吸收电源的新方法。如果成功，这些努力将创造一系列知识和技术，使复杂的体内治疗系统能够利用电刺激来改善愈合。这种将尖端的、灵活的和可吸收的电子设备直接转化为临床的系统方法，有可能改变软组织伤口治疗方法。虽然有针对皮肤电子系统的努力，但由于缺乏专门用于医疗应用的材料和工艺开发，这些努力受到限制，通常不旨在开发治疗应用；因此，这些努力充其量是以诊断为重点的。同样，在柔性电子设备方面也有许多努力，但只展示了相对简单的体内系统。这项研究将以一种微创的方式提供高分辨率的体内伤口梯度场标测，并将影响许多医疗程序中细胞恢复的知识和成功。同样，成功的刺激以受控或可预测的方式影响内部伤口愈合的影响也将非常高。更广泛的影响：这项努力将引入一个多方面的教育和推广计划，旨在增加招收和留住高中生进入科学和工程专业，并将机会扩大到从学校到大学的各级教育中代表不足的少数族裔。将为高中生、本科生和研究生以及各级代表性不足的少数民族提供机会，并将在努力范围内将其与研究相匹配。除了研究机会，还将组织研讨会和教程，以培养人们对用于医疗应用的柔性电子产品的兴趣。本科生和研究生将参与到这项工作中来。本科生将参与实验设计和计量学教程，为他们未来的研究生涯做好准备。这项提案的结果也将用于大学赞助的高中外展项目。高中生将被邀请参观实验室并获得实践经验。最后，作为该项目的一部分，将制定针对少数族裔学生招生的具体计划，目标是为少数族裔学生提供各级机会、培训和指导，以推动他们在STEM领域的留住和成功。

The investigators propose to design, develop and characterize novel flexible, resorbable nanomaterials and devices for wound healing applications. The work is divided into three tasks to support the engineering of a resorbable system for wounding healing: a) the development of flexible, resorbable materials themselves containing resorbable, high-quality conductors (for use as interconnects and electrodes); b) the development of resorbable, biocompatible batteries; c) the use of implanted flexible -- ultimately resorbable? devices to map and control the electric field wound gradient in internal wounds. Additionally, the work leverages efforts at UCSF on internal wound healing in the context of anastomoses and the extensive experience of the Pediatric Device Consortium (www.pediatricdeviceconsortium.org/).Intellectual Merit: When implanting therapeutic electronic constructs within the body, a key concern is their removal after the therapeutic effect is complete. This need to remove such constructs has largely limited the deployment of electronic therapeutic systems to applications where they may be easily removed. Specifically, it is typically unacceptable to leave such a device within the body, since gradual degradation of the device could introduce toxic materials in large quantities and sizes into the body. The proposed effort lies at the intersection of nanomaterials, flexible electronics, and medical electronics. The effort brings together leading researchers in these fields. By leveraging the world-leading expertise of the individual researchers in each of these fields, the effort aims to achieve several dramatic innovations in medical electronics, including novel approaches to resorbable conductors and implantable, resorbable power sources. If successful, these efforts will create a body of knowledge and technology to enable the realization of sophisticated in-body therapeutic systems that leverage electrical stimulation to improve healing. This systems approach at translating cutting edge flexible and resorbable electronics directly to the clinic has the potential to transform soft-tissue wound healing therapies. While there are efforts aimed at electronic systems on skin, these efforts are limited by the absence of materials and process development specifically for medical applications, and generally do not aim to develop therapeutic applications; at best therefore, they are diagnostically focused. Similarly, there are numerous efforts focused on flexible electronics, but only relatively simple in-body systems have been demonstrated. This research will provide high resolution, in-body mapping of the wound gradient field in a minimally invasive way and will impact the knowledge and success of cell recovery in many medical procedures. Likewise, the impact of a demonstration of successful stimulation to affect internal wound healing in a controlled or predictable manner would be very high. Broader Impact:The effort will introduce a multi-facetted education and outreach program, targeted at increasing recruitment and retention of high-school students into science and engineering, and extending opportunities to underrepresented minorities at all levels of education from school to university. Opportunities for high school students, undergraduates, and graduate students, as well as underrepresented minorities at all levels will be provided, and will be matched to research within the effort. In addition to research opportunities, seminars and tutorials will be organized to develop interest in flexible electronics for medical applications. Undergraduate and graduate students will be involved in performing this work. Undergraduates will be engaged in experimental design and metrology tutorials to prepare them for future careers in research. The results of this proposal will also be used in a University-sponsored high-school outreach program. High-school students will be invited to visit the laboratory and to gain hands-on experience. Finally, specific programs targeting recruitment of minority students will be developed as part of this project, with the goal of providing opportunities, training, and mentorship at all levels for minority students to drive their retention and success in STEM field.