Tag Archives: Mu Chiao

Joint Simon Fraser University-IEEE nanotechnology May 2012 colloquium adds extra day by popular demand

Organizers had so many speakers lining up for the May 4, 2012 mini colloquium being held by Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada) and the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Electron Devices Society (EDS) they added a second day to be held on May 11, 2012.

The times, location, and agenda for the May 4, 2012 event, from the May 2012 issue of the IEEE Vancouver Contact newsletter p. 5,

8:00 – 17:00 IRMACS Theater (Rm10900) and Atrium, Applied Sciences Building, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada (http://www.irmacs.sfu.ca/about/visitors/getting-to-sfu)

Rationale: This [colloquium] attempts to draw experts from multiple areas of interest to EDS (http://eds.ieee.org/field-of-interest.html) to stimulate discussion in how all our areas can work together toward further integration of micro/nanosystems. In addition to individual lectures, a panel discussion at the end of the day will bring together the speakers with the audience to provide insight and lively discussion on the future of integrated micro/nanosystems.

Agenda

8.00 Light breakfast

8:30 MC opening by Prof. Norbert Haunerland, Associate Vice-President, Research

8.45 Distinguished Lecture #1: Juin Liou, “Outlook and Challenges in Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Protection of Modern and Future Integrated Circuits”

9:45 Invited Lecture #1: Bruce Darling, “High Temperature (0-250 C) On-Chip Temperature Sensors and Voltage References”

10:45 Coffee break

11:00 Distinguished Lecture #2: Meyya Meyyapapan, “Nanotechnology: Development of Practical Systems and Applications”

12:00 Invited Lecture #2: Karl Böhringer, “Heterogeneous Microsystem Integration with Self-Assembly”

13:00 Lunch break co-sponsored by SFU Faculty of Applied Sciences Dean’s Office

14:00 Distinguished Lecturer #3: Durga Misra, “High-K Dielectrics for Nanoscale CMOS Devices”

15:00 Invited Lecture #3: Mu Chiao, “”A Magnetically Controlled MEMS Drug Device”

16:00 Coffee break

16:15 Panel Discussion

16:55 Closing remarks and adjourn

The times, location, and agenda for the May 11, 2012 colloquium, from the May 2012 newsletter p. 11,

10:30 – 15:00 4D LABS, Seminar Room SSB 7172, South Sciences Building,

Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada. …

10:30 Coffee and Snacks sponsored by 4-D Labs SFU, IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS), School of Engineering Science

10:45 Special Talk Series Opening by Prof. John Jones, Director, School of Engineering Science

11:00 Invited Lecture #1: Prof. Vijay K. Varadan: Nano-Sensors. E-Bra. Printable Electronics and Smart Devices for Point Of Healthcare

11:50 Invited Lecture #2: Prof. Anja Boisen: Miniaturized cantilever-like sensors

12:40 Lunch break sponsored by IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS), 4-D Labs SFU, School of Engineering Science Distinguished

13:30 Lecturer #3: Prof. Peter J. Hesketh: Microcantiliver Sensors Using Metal Organic Framework Films and Ultra-Low Micro-bridge Gas

14:20- 15:00 Discussions, Closing Remarks and Adjourn

The newsletter features more substantive descriptions of the topics and the speakers while the April 30, 2012 SFU news release features some comments from one of the organizers describing the event and who might be interested in attending,

Bonnie Gray, associate professor in SFU’s school of engineering science, says the colloquia will provide very applicable, every day information on nanotechnology’s real-world use.

“I can see all talks being of interest to people who want to know more about what the important considerations in the microchip technology are. [It] forms the basis for our entire electronics industry and the plethora of different sensors used in our everyday lives,” she says.

She adds that while many of the lectures will feature subjects of broad appeal (such as drug delivery and air quality monitoring), the final open panel discussion could have the widest audience appeal.

“I expect the talks to be most interesting to those in science and applied science, and some for health science, but I can see the panel especially being of interest to [those dealing with] technology policy, as well.”

If you do want to attend, I suggest contacting Bonnie Gray at bgray@sfu.ca  as I was not able to access  the event registration page on the Vancouver IEEE website.

Happy Canada Day to everyone! and news about implantable devices for the prevention diabetes-related vision loss

Although it’s going to be years (I imagine several) before patients at risk for diabetes-related blindness will be able to benefit from this work, it’s certainly exciting news from the University of British Columbia (UBC). One of their research teams has tested a device that could be implanted behind an eye to release medications when an external sensor is activated. ETA July 4, 2011: I took another look at that news release and I’m now not sure that I correctly understood the term “… on-demand release of drugs” which I meant an external locus of control.

Here’s more from the June 29, 2011 UBC  news release,

A team of engineers and scientists at the University of British Columbia has developed a device that can be implanted behind the eye for controlled and on-demand release of drugs to treat retinal damage caused by diabetes.

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of vision loss among patients with diabetes. The disease is caused by the unwanted growth of capillary cells in the retina, which in its advanced stages can result in blindness.

The novel drug delivery mechanism is detailed in the current issue of Lab on a Chip, a multidisciplinary journal on innovative microfluidic and nanofluidic technologies.

The lead authors are recent PhD mechanical engineering graduate Fatemeh Nazly Pirmoradi, who completed the study for her doctoral thesis, and Mechanical Engineering Assoc. Prof. Mu Chiao, who studies nanoscience and microelectromechanical systems for biological applications.

The co-authors are Prof. Helen Burt and research scientist John Jackson at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

“We wanted to come up with a safe and effective way to help diabetic patients safeguard their sight,” says Chiao who has a family member dealing with diabetic retinopathy.

A current treatment for diabetic retinopathy is laser therapy, which has side effects, among them laser burns or the loss of peripheral or night vision. Anti-cancer drugs may also used to treat the disease. However, these compounds clear quickly from the bloodstream so high dosages are required, thus exposing other tissues to toxicity.

Key to UBC’s innovation is the ability to trigger the drug delivery system through an external magnetic field. The team accomplished this by sealing the reservoir of the implantable device – which is no larger than the head of a pin – with an elastic magnetic polydimethylsiloxane (silicone) membrane. A magnetic field causes the membrane to deform and discharge a specific amount of the drug, much like squeezing water out of a flexible bottle.

In a series of lab tests, the UBC researchers loaded the implantable device with the drug docetaxel and triggered the drug release at a dosage suitable for treating diabetic retinopathy. They found that the implantable device kept its integrity with negligible leakage over 35 days.

They also monitored the drug’s biological effectiveness over a given period, testing it against two types of cultured cancer cells, including those found in the prostate. They found that they were able to achieve reliable release rates.

“The docetaxel retained its pharmacological efficacy for more than two months in the device and was able to kill off the cancer cells,” says Pirmoradi.

The UBC device offers improvements upon existing implantable devices for drug delivery, says Chiao.

“Technologies available now are either battery operated and are too large for treating the eye, or they rely on diffusion, which means drug release rates cannot be stopped once the device is implanted – a problem when patients’ conditions change.”

Pirmoradi says it will be several years before the UBC device is ready for patient use. “There’s a lot of work ahead of us in terms of biocompatibility and performance optimization.”

The team is also working to pinpoint all the possible medical applications for their device so that they can tailor the mechanical design to particular diseases

There’s no information as to whether this is work being done at microscale or nanoscale or both for that matter. I do note that the device is described as being “no larger than the head of a pin” so it’s possible to physically see and/or handle it. I wonder what the response would be if the device were invisible to the human eye. I expect that response would be dependent on how unpleasant the effects from the previous technology/ies used have proved to be.

Vampire batteries and thanks to the Bluehost support guy

It’s been a bit tumultuous the last week or two as I’ve been trying to get this blog working again. I almost lost the whole thing yesterday so thank you Bluehost (the hosting service for my site) support guy for helping me to retrieve my posts. At this point, I have managed to make the full posting area visible (so I can see what I’m writing) but my spell check function and a few others are still not operational. I’ve decided not to bother fixing it as it is far beyond my technical skills and I’d really rather be writing.

This is for you, support guy (not a business article but it is a medical application that might be of interest to you). Vampire fuel cells, i.e. these fuel cells are ‘blood-powered’, may help fuel batteries for implanted medical devices. It’s a very cool idea (if it works) since it means a pacemaker or a deep brain stimulator used for people with Parkinson’s Disease or other similar devices could be fueled by the natural sugars found in blood. Researchers (Mu Chiao and Chin-Pang-Billy Siu) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have developed a prototype which has been tested iwth human blood plasma proving it’s feasible but there haven’t been any animal or human trials yet. There’s a more technical explanation* at the New Scientist website and a more general one here* at the Vancouver Sun newspaper website. (Note: The Vancouver Sun articles are usually placed behind a paywall after a day or so.)

*Sept. 8, 2017: Those links don’t appear to be functioning but I did find this ‘backgrounder‘, where the preferred term is “yeast-powered fuel cell” on the UBC Applied Science website.