Session: Rising Stars of Mechanical Engineering Celebration & Showcase

Paper Number: 148683

148683 - Addressing Unmet Needs With 3d Printed Electronics 

The integration of electronics with medical devices can enable advanced sensing, actuation, and computational capability. Yet, at the fundamental level, such integration remains challenging due to the inherent geometrical, mechanical, and material dichotomies between conventional manufactured electronics and three-dimensional systems. My research develops electronics printing strategies that are fundamentally free from the constraints of the conventional manufacturing approach, enabling the creation of biomedical devices and architecture with an unprecedented level of functional integration.

First, we demonstrated the ability to incorporate active electronics with a three-dimensional construct by achieving multiscale control of nanomaterials assembly with soft matter physics phenomena and machine intelligence. Second, we developed the ability to selectively anneal nanomaterials on temperature-sensitive constructs by exploiting metamaterials-inspired electromagnetic structure, enabling local programming of electronic and mechanical properties of spatially freeform microstructures on biomedical devices and biological constructs. Third, we explored the novel integration of freeform electronics with digitally designed architecture and metastructure to create next-generation bioelectronics, such as ingestible electronics systems and self-learning robots that can realize a surgical-free digital-based diagnosis and treatment strategy. Ultimately, we strive to overcome challenges associated with the conventional manufacturing approach, creating fundamentally new classes of bioelectronics that can address a broad range of unmet clinical, defense, and societal needs.

For example, we developed a 3D printed gastric resident electronics (GRE) system, which leverages the significant space and immune-tolerant environment available within the gastrointestinal tract to circumvent the potential complications associated with surgically placed medical implants. A desktop-sized multimaterial 3D printer can be used to fabricate a highly customized GRE, which is to be delivered orally, reside in the stomach for weeks, and finally break up to be excreted from the gastric space. GRE can form bilateral communications with personal devices such as a smartphone directly for communications and controls. The seamless interconnection with other wireless wearable electronics and implants enables a real-time feedback-based automated diagnostic and responsive treatment. Our work demonstrated the ability to achieve in vivo gastric residence in a porcine stomach for up to a maximum of 36 days and maintain in vivo wireless bilateral communication and control for a maximum of 15 days. In addition to GRE, we also develop ingestible soft magnetic robots integrated with electronics, as well as a three-sphere robotic system imparted with self-reinforcement learning capability to adapt to the environmental changes in the body. 

B. Elder, R. Neupane, E. Tokita, U. Ghosh, S. Hales, Y. L. Kong*. "Nanomaterial Patterning in 3D Printing." Advanced Materials 1907142 (2020).

S. Hales, E. Tokita, R. Neupane, U. Ghosh, B. Elder, D. Wirthlin, Y. L. Kong*. "3D Printed nanomaterial-based electronic, biomedical, and bioelectronic devices." Nanotechnology 31, 172001 (2020).

U. Ghosh, S. Ning, Y. Wang, Y. L. Kong*. "Addressing unmet clinical needs with 3D printing technologies." Advanced Healthcare Materials 1800417 (2018).

Presenting Author: Yong Lin Kong Rice University

Presenting Author Biography: Yong Lin Kong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 2016 and was a postdoctoral associate at MIT. Yong Lin’s research focuses on the additive manufacturing of nanomaterial-based functional devices and biomedical devices. He has been awarded patents in “3D printed active electronic materials and devices”, “3D printed multi-functional hybrid devices and structures”, and “gastric resident electronics.” He is a recipient of the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program (ONR YIP) Award, NIH Trailblazer Award, DOD CDMRP Discovery Award, 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award, SPIE Rising Researcher Award, ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, TMS Young Leaders Professional Development Award, and MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 Asia Award.

Authors:

Yong Lin Kong Rice University