NeTS: IntraBioNets: Foundational Models of Heterogeneous Intrabody Biomolecular Communication Network Links for the Internet of Bio-NanoThings

传统的电信解决方案无法满足尺寸、环境和生物相容性的限制，无法实现下一代纳米技术和合成生物学支持的电气和生物可穿戴和可植入设备（即生物纳米物联网）的通信网络。另一方面，这些设备与人体的直接接触，细胞自然地交流并相互连接成网络，表明了一种利用生物通信的自然机制进行相互连接的新方式。IntraBioNets项目的目标是解决基于这些生物通信渠道的自我可持续和生物兼容网络基础设施开发中的基本挑战。特别是，IntraBioNets项目侧重于在微生物组-肠道-脑轴（MGBA）的生物过程基础上开发可用通信通道的基本模型，MGBA由肠道微生物群落、肠道组织、肠道神经系统及其相互联系组成。该提案的结果将建立一个潜在的变革性网络领域的可行性，为下一代生物医学系统铺平道路，用于普及、持续和远程医疗保健。在整个项目中开发的新型通信概念、技术和概念验证模拟将对医疗保健（例如，用于先进和持续远程健康监测的系统）的应用产生直接影响，并对生物信息学（例如，用于解释生物数据的基于通信的模型）和网络防御（例如，用于识别的生物特征参数传感）产生更广泛的影响。科学成果将在国际会议、期刊和杂志上传播。博士生（尤其是女性和少数族裔）将通过该项目获得支持和指导，成为该领域的专家。拟议的研究旨在开发一个全新的和未开发的领域，跨越多个领域，包括通信理论和网络，生物学和生理学。具体而言，该项目将沿着以下方向作出贡献。首先，在研究中，将首次开发物理通道模型来定量表征i)肠和自主神经和肌肉活动的电通信；Ii)通过肠道微生物群落进行分子通讯；iii)通过MGBA的电子和分子通信之间的转导。然后，将开发一个网络模拟器来验证上述模型通过电子和分子信号的信息。最后，将研究当前生物传感器和生物电子学的最新技术，以便将来将知识转移到硬件开发中，以创建能够访问上述通道的设备。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Classical telecommunications solutions fail to meet size, environmental and bio-compatibility constraints to realize communication networks for the next-generation nanotechnology and synthetic-biology-enabled electrical and biological wearable and implantable devices, i.e., the Internet of Bio-Nano Things. On the other hand, the direct contact of these devices with the human body, where the cells naturally communicate and interconnect into networks, suggests a novel way of interconnection exploiting the natural mechanisms of biological communication. The goal of the IntraBioNets project is to address fundamental challenges in the development of a self-sustainable and bio-compatible network infrastructure based on these biological communication channels. In particular, the IntraBioNets project focuses on the development of fundamental models of usable communication channels on top of the biological processes underlying the Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis (MGBA), composed of the gut microbial community, the gut tissues, the enteric nervous system, and their interconnects. The outcome of this proposal will establish the feasibility of a potentially transformative networking domain paving the way for the next-generation biomedical systems for pervasive, constant, and remote healthcare. Novel communication concepts, techniques, and proof-of-concept simulations developed throughout the project will provide immediate impact in applications for healthcare (e.g., systems for advanced and constant tele-health monitoring), and broader impacts in bioinformatics, (e.g., communication-based models for the interpretation of biological data) and cyber-defense (e.g., biometric parameter sensing for identification). Scientific results will be disseminated at international conferences, journals and magazines. PhD students (especially women and underrepresented minorities) will be supported and mentored through the project to become experts in this field. The proposed research seeks to develop a completely novel and unexplored area spanning across diverse fields, including communication theory and networking, biology, and physiology. Specifically, this project will contribute along the following directions. First, for the first time in research, physical channel models will be developed to quantitatively characterize i) electrical communications over enteric and autonomic nerves and muscle activity; ii) molecular communications through gut microbial community; iii) the transduction between electrical and molecular communications through the MGBA. Then, a network simulator will be developed to validate the aforementioned models for information through electrical and molecular signals. Finally, the current state-of-the-art for biosensors and bioelectronics will be investigated for future knowledge transfer to hardware development to create devices capable of accessing the aforementioned channels.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.