MEMS and Autonomous Integrated Microsystems (AIM) Laboratory
Wireless Magnetoelastic Sensors for Biomedical Applications
Magnetoelastic (ME) materials have been universally used as anti-theft security tags in shops. These materials exhibit the magnetostriction behavior in which the magnetic property of the material changes under mechanical deformation (strain). The application of such materials as sensors, particularly implantable microsensors for putting into the human body for biomedical applications, is of high interest due to its inherent passive wireless nature, which eliminates the needs for battery or antenna, leading to implanted devices with reduced complexity, size and cost. The micro electro-discharge machining (µEDM) is a computer-controlled, effective micromachining technique for patterning ME materials for sensor fabrication with the micron-scale feature sizes. This tool is available in house at the MEMS and Autonomous Integrated Microsystem (AIM) Laboratory.
This summer project will allow the Protege students to work on the development of a ME sensor for biomarker detection with graduate students and be exposed to interdisciplinary research in the field of MEMS and microsystems, collaborating with UC College of Medicine and contributing to research tasks including literature review, design and simulation, hands-on microfabrication using the cleanroom facility, and testing in vitro of the fabricated implantable microsensors. Multiple students can be accommodated.
Fig: Illustration showing device concept diagram of wireless biosensor for early detection of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in newly implanted knee joint prosthetics, as an example application of magnetoelastic (ME) sensor for implantable biomedical applications.
Director
Tao Li
Associate Professor, CEAS - Electrical and Computer Engineeri
835 Rhodes Hall
Dr. Tao Li is an Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of the University of Cincinnati. Previously he was a research-track faculty member (Associate Research Scientist) and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the EECS Department and the Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSensing and Systems (WIMS2) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Dr. Li’s research interests include MEMS and microsystems, micromachined sensors and actuators, microfluidic devices, nontraditional microfabrication technologies, microsystem packaging and integration, and sensor electronic interfaces and embedded systems. Example applications include implantable/ingestible biomedical devices for sensing/sampling/actuating, wearable devices for healthcare, smart medical tools with embedded sensors/actuators, in vitro devices for biomedical studies, harsh environment monitoring devices for challenging natural or industrial conditions, sensors for Internet of Things (IoT) and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), etc. He served on the Organizing Committee of the IEEE Sensors Conference from 2019 to 2022 and as a Track Chair in 2023. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Sensors Journal, a Track Chair for IEEE Sensors 2024 Conference, and an Executive Technical Program Committee Member for IEEE MEMS 2025 Conference.