Programmable engineering platforms for active control of medical devices include power sources, delivery mechanisms, communication hardware, and associated electronics, most typically in forms that require surgical extraction after a period of use. In this talk, I will introduce our self-powered optoelectronic platforms that bypasses key disadvantages of these systems and enables miniaturized devices for drug delivery and electrotherapy, with constituent materials being bioresorbable that naturally degrade after a period of stable operation in the human body. Bioresorbable batteries serve as power supplies. Studies of various bioresorbable electrode materials define the key considerations and guide optimized choices in designs. Programmability relies on the use of external light sources to illuminate wavelength-sensitive phototransistors via wavelength-division multiplexing strategy. In vivo demonstrations of programmed release of lidocaine and multi-site cardiac pacing in small and large animal models illustrate the functionality in the context of drug delivery and electrotherapy. This platform can be readily adapted for a broad range of additional applications. 

 

可编程控制的医疗器件中通常包含电源、通信硬件和相关的电子设备。这些系统在植入身体一段时间后需要手术取出。在此次报告中，我将介绍我们设计的自供电的光电平台，该平台克服了这些系统的主要缺点。基于此平台，我们设计了可应用于给药和电治疗的微型化器件。器件所用的生物可吸收材料能够在植入身体一段时间后自然降解。我们设计了生物可吸收电池为器件提供能源，研究了多种生物可吸收的电极材料。通过波长分割复用策略，我们实现了器件的可编程性，并成功在小型和大型的动物实验中实现了利多卡因的可控释放和心脏的多位点起搏，验证了此自供电光电平台在给药和电疗方面的应用。该平台还可以被广泛应用于其他领域。

 

[BIOGRAPHY]

 

Yamin Zhang is an Assistant Professor under Presidential Young Professorship at the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering in the National University of Singapore (NUS). She was a Research Associate (Jul 2023–Jan 2024) and a Postdoctoral Fellow (Feb 2021–Jun 2023) in Prof. John A. Rogers’s group at the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University. She received her Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2020, under the supervision of Prof. Nian Liu. In 2016, she received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Technology from Tianjin University and a B.S. in Finance from Nankai University. Her research focuses on advancing the frontiers of battery technology and electrochemical strategies for next-generation medical devices and sustainable energy solutions, with an overarching focus on healthcare innovation and environmental sustainability. She has published over 30 papers (h-index: 21) in numerous high-impact journals, including Science, Nature Biomedical Engineering, PNAS, Chemical Reviews, Energy & Environmental Science, Nano Letters, ACS Energy Letters, etc. She is a recipient of several grants/awards, including AHA Early Faculty Independence Award (2023), MIT ChemE Rising Stars (2022), NSF I-Corps (2022), Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Abroad (2021), Best PhD Thesis Award at Georgia tech (2020), and ECS Georgia Section Outstanding Student Achievement Award (2020).

 

张亚敏博士，新加坡国立大学化学与生物分子工程系助理教授、校长青年教授。于2016年获得天津大学化学工程学士学位及南开大学金融学学士学位，2016-2020年底于美国佐治亚理工学院化学生物工程系刘念教授课题组从事博士研究（电化学）；2021年2月至2024年1月于美国西北大学John A. Rogers（美国四院院士、柔性电子学先驱）教授课题组从事博士后研究（生物电子）。她的课题组致力于推动电池/电化学技术在生物医疗和可持续发展上的应用。已发表30余篇论文（H指数21），其中包括Science, Nature Biomedical Engineering, PNAS, Chemical Reviews, Energy & Environmental Science, Nano Letters, ACS Energy Letters等刊物。获MIT ChemE Rising Stars, American Heart Association Early Faculty Independence Award, NSF I-Corps, 中国政府海外优秀学生奖，Sigma Xi Best Doctoral Dissertation等奖励。

 

 

Jian Lv

 

西安交通大学

 

Sintering solution curing for the printing of stretchable electronics

 

 

Printing is a high efficiency, low cost and large-area process, playing a key role in realizing the mass manufacturing of flexible stretchable electronics. However, compared with the matured printed bendable flexible electronics, the performance of printed stretchable electronics is still underscored. It is challenging to acquire both high stretchability and conductivity, as the electrical properties are dependent on percolated networks while the mechanical robustness relies on the insulative binder. Meanwhile, cyclic deformation severely deteriorates the overall electromechanical performance, impeding the widespread application printed stretchable electronics. Unlike traditional light-curing and heat-curing processes, we have developed sintering solution curing technology for the printing of high-performance stretchable electronics. The ion-induced sintering of silver conductive fillers enhances the electron transport and non-solvent phase separation produces a porous binder structure, which improves the conductivity of and inhibits the crack propagation during the tensile process, respectively. Two factors worked synergistically to improves the conductivity, tensile limit and durability to cyclic tensile, simultaneously. The sintering solution curing strategy was applied to develop a new stretchable sweat battery and a soft sensing gripper for wearable device power supply and smart agricultural picking, respectively.

 

印刷电子工艺具有高效率、低成本和可大面积制造的特点，是实现柔性可拉伸电子批量化制造的重要途径。然而，和已成熟的印刷可弯折柔性电子相比，兼顾拉伸性降低了功能电极的性能和连接导线的导电性，循环拉伸变形进一步降低了印刷可拉伸器件的可靠性，极大地限制了其在实际应用中的推广。不同于传统的光固化和加热固化工艺，我们开发了烧结溶液固化技术用于高性能可拉伸柔性电子的制造。利用溶液中的离子诱导烧结银填料和非溶剂相分离诱导造孔的原理，烧结增强银片之间的电子传输并产生多孔的粘结剂结构，提升了连接导线的导电性并对拉伸过程中裂纹的拓展起到抑制作用，电导率、拉伸极限和循环拉伸性能同步得到改善。进一步利用溶液烧结固化印刷技术，开发了新型柔性汗液电池和软机器传感抓手，用于可穿戴设备供电和智慧农业采摘。

 

[BIOGRAPHY]

 

Jian Lv(Lyu), an associate professor at Xian Jiaotong University since 2023, mainly focuses on the printed stretchable flexible electronics and their application in wearable medical electronics and soft robotics. He graduated from the same university in 2019, and worked as a visiting graduate student at University of California, San Diego from 2017 to 2019 and a postdoc research fellow at Nanyang Technological University from 2019 to 2023. He has published more than 50 papers in Sci. Adv., Nat. Commun., Energy Environ. Sci. and Adv. Funct. Mater. and other academic journals, which has been cited more than 2,300 times (based on Google Scholar). He has applied 4 international PCT patents and Chinese invention patents, and his scientific research results have been reported by media around the world, including CAN, Forbes, Daily Mail, Daily Science and Yahoo. After returning to China, he was selected into the Sanqin Talent Youth Introduction Program of Shaanxi Province and the Youth Top-notch Talent Program of Xian Jiaotong University, participating in the National Key R&D Program for the design of stretchable circuit for the medical applications.

 

吕建，西安交通大学副教授，主要从事印刷可拉伸柔性传感器及其在可穿戴医疗电子和软体机器人中的应用研究。2019年毕业于西安交通大学，2017-2019年在加州大学圣地亚哥分校担任访问学生和科研助理，2029-2023在新加坡南洋理工大学从事博士后研究。共发表SCI论文44篇，其中一作/通讯（共同）15篇，包括Sci. Adv.，Nat. Commun.，Energy Environ. Sci.和Adv. Funct. Mater.等学术期刊，他引2300余次（基于Google Scholar），申请国际PCT专利2项，授权中国发明专利2项，科研成果先后被成果被新加坡电视台和报纸以及世界多家媒体包括美国福布斯、英国每日邮报、每日科学报和雅虎报道。回国后，入选陕西省三秦英才青年引进计划和西安交通大学青年拔尖人才计划，参与国家重点研发计划，研发用于医疗器件的可拉伸印刷电路。

 

【主持人】