[FG] Biomaterials Science Center (BMC)Head of Research Unit Prof. Dr.Bert MüllerOverviewMembersPublicationsProjects & CollaborationsProjects & Collaborations OverviewMembersPublicationsProjects & Collaborations Projects & Collaborations 5 foundShow per page10 10 20 50 Nano Engineered Neural Interfaces - NENI Research Project | 6 Project MembersAlzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive neurodegenerative disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills eventually leading to death from complete brain failure. It is the most common cause of dementia and affects more than 46 million people globally, with 500'000 new cases diagnosed annually in the United States alone. While there is still no cure for AD, there are several prescription drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat its symptoms. Recently, there has been growing excitement around treating neurological diseases using neuromodulation techniques. Flickering strobe lights at gamma-frequency of 40 Hz have shown very promising results in mouse models where microglia immune cells could be activated and contributed to degradation of amyloid-β proteins. Invasive neuromodulation methods can target very specific areas in the brain. The current modulation devices, however, are comparable to that of early cardiac pacemakers, leading to fibrotic encapsulation within weeks. This is mainly predicated on the neural probe's mechanical properties, given by the hard platinum/iridium electrodes from the semiconductor industry. Our proposed approach for ten thousand times softer electrodes is based on nano engineered neural interfaces (NENI) - hybrid microstructured polymer pads covered by ultra-thin and soft nanostructured metal/elastomer compounds. Our NENI probes will allow a rapid reconfiguration to pre-selected brain targets for a patient-specific anatomy and therefore enable the activation of microglia immune cells. This project is in collaboration with 5 project partners from around Switzerland: University Hospital Basel, Empa, PSI, FHNW, and University of Basel. In addition, two companies: Invibio Ltd/United Kingdom, a leading provider of polymeric biomaterials which have been used in around 9 million PEEK medical implants with more than 15 years of proven clinical history and Valtronic SA, a global contract manufacturer for the electronics of medical devices, are supporting this project. Enhancing the capabilities of artificial muscle implants using low-voltage dielectric elastomer sensors Research Project | 1 Project MembersDielectric elastomer transducers (DET) exhibit a strain-stress behavior comparable to human tissues. During my PhD thesis I have demonstrated DE actuators based on elastomer layers several hundred nanometers thin generating 6 % strain applying voltages as low as 12 V. To build a sphincter (actuator) thousands of nanostructures have to be stacked realizing the force comparable to natural muscles. Therefore, this Bridge-application will focus on the sensing capability of dielectric elastomer transducers (DETs). Molecular beam deposition (MBD) will serve for the preparation of about a dozen nanometer-thin elastomer and metal layers. Pre-stretched nanometer-thin electrodes are intended to keep the whole DE-sensor as soft as the elastomer itself and avoid the stiffening by the gold. Tailored elastomers for MBD are proposed in collaboration with D. Opris (Laboratory of Functional Polymers, Empa) to obtain highly elastic films with significantly increased permittivity. Whereas, MBD is a flexible and extremely precise deposition technique, electro-spray deposition (ESD) of polymers is the cheaper alternative. Currently this setup has been assembled into vacuum atmosphere for enhanced homogeneity and reduced defect density within the elastomer membrane. I am convinced that this state-of-the-art technique allows realizing nanometer-thin DETs for the first time. For both MBD and ESD, spectroscopic ellipsometry will enable the growth control with nanometer precision. Finally, these fabrication techniques will serve for direct integration of the sensor without implying further geometrical restrictions to the medical implant. The resulting high-performance multi-layer sensors will remain operational even if one or the other layer fails due to breakdowns. The expected long-term reliability and low power compsuption permits the implanted dielectric elastomer sensor to be autonomous. With millisecond time response the functionality of artificial sphincters for incontinence treatments will be significantly enhanced. Here, several collaborations have been established: besides Myopowers S.A. (St. Louis, France), our partner in the nanotera.ch initiative, I am in contact with the team of N. Dhar (Wayne University, USA) seeking for artificial sphincters with smart pressure adaption. Colleagues from our department, including G. Rauter, like to implement the DET into sophisticated devices. Within the MIRACLE project the sensor arrays could become part of the endoscope that enables laser-based tissue cutting. Consequently, several patent applications can be filed, which should form a sound basis to establish a MedTech start-up company. AFM for nano-structural and -mechanical studies of dielectric actuators Research Project | 2 Project MembersAFM for nano-structural and -mechanical studies of dielectric actuators Multi-modal matching of two-dimensional images with three-dimensional data in the field of biomedical engineering Research Project | 3 Project MembersMulti-modal matching is understood as the automatic (elastic) alignment of data, termed regis-tration, from different imaging techniques using the characteristic anatomical features. While satisfying approaches for two-dimensional (2D) to 2D and three-dimensional (3D) to 3D data sets have been developed during the last two decades, the non-rigid 2D-3D registration belongs to the unsolved problems because of the larger degrees of freedom especially for high-resolution 'big data'. The need for 2D-3D registration, however, becomes more and more obvious, as besides the well-established histology, which highlights the functionality in tissue slices according to the selected stain, magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) 3D data with better and better spatial resolution and contrast have been acquired. The combination of the functional information from 2D images with the local physical quantities in 3D recorded, for example, by means of micro CT (µCT) and MR microscopy has been vital to (i) correct preparation artifacts in the histological slices applying the less detailed 3D data, to (ii) identify the issue types in 3D data using the functional information from histology in quantitative manner and to (iii) determine the optimized location and direction of histological slicing. The aim of the project is the development of algorithms for the automatic non-rigid multi-modal 2D-3D registration. Here, we will concentrate on registering histological sections with µCT-data. In a first stage, we will focus on the development of a sparse image registration approach that has the advantage of being robust and computationally efficient. The second stage uses the sparse registration as anchor points while delivering a dense multimodal registration of the two imaging modalities. Finally, the computational effort and the general usability will be optimized to allow the processing of large data sets that are characteristic for high-resolution 3D imaging in biomedical engineering. Tomography of microvascular structures in murine brain tumors Research Project | 2 Project MembersThe three-dimensional vascular structures down to the smallest capillaries have been of vital interest in cancer research because of the demand for alternatives to the established treatments (surgery, medication and radiation). The present research efforts range from in vivo imaging (MRI, US, and PET), via post mortem methods, including micro computed computer tomography. In a previous study, we showed that synchrotron radiation-based necessary spatial resolution and contrast to capture the smallest vessels from casts. Tumors with damaged vessel walls are inappropriate for casting. Therefore, phase tomography was applied to visualize the capillaries. Grating-based tomography yields the necessary contrast but vessels with a diameter smaller than 20 provides the necessary spatial resolution but hardly enough contrast. Consequently, we propose first to improve the spatial resolution of grating-based tomography, second to identify rather simple in-line tomography approaches such as the one introduced by Paganin searching for better contrast, and third to combine tomograms from both approaches to gain additional information toward the smallest capillaries. 1 1 OverviewMembersPublicationsProjects & Collaborations
Projects & Collaborations 5 foundShow per page10 10 20 50 Nano Engineered Neural Interfaces - NENI Research Project | 6 Project MembersAlzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive neurodegenerative disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills eventually leading to death from complete brain failure. It is the most common cause of dementia and affects more than 46 million people globally, with 500'000 new cases diagnosed annually in the United States alone. While there is still no cure for AD, there are several prescription drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat its symptoms. Recently, there has been growing excitement around treating neurological diseases using neuromodulation techniques. Flickering strobe lights at gamma-frequency of 40 Hz have shown very promising results in mouse models where microglia immune cells could be activated and contributed to degradation of amyloid-β proteins. Invasive neuromodulation methods can target very specific areas in the brain. The current modulation devices, however, are comparable to that of early cardiac pacemakers, leading to fibrotic encapsulation within weeks. This is mainly predicated on the neural probe's mechanical properties, given by the hard platinum/iridium electrodes from the semiconductor industry. Our proposed approach for ten thousand times softer electrodes is based on nano engineered neural interfaces (NENI) - hybrid microstructured polymer pads covered by ultra-thin and soft nanostructured metal/elastomer compounds. Our NENI probes will allow a rapid reconfiguration to pre-selected brain targets for a patient-specific anatomy and therefore enable the activation of microglia immune cells. This project is in collaboration with 5 project partners from around Switzerland: University Hospital Basel, Empa, PSI, FHNW, and University of Basel. In addition, two companies: Invibio Ltd/United Kingdom, a leading provider of polymeric biomaterials which have been used in around 9 million PEEK medical implants with more than 15 years of proven clinical history and Valtronic SA, a global contract manufacturer for the electronics of medical devices, are supporting this project. Enhancing the capabilities of artificial muscle implants using low-voltage dielectric elastomer sensors Research Project | 1 Project MembersDielectric elastomer transducers (DET) exhibit a strain-stress behavior comparable to human tissues. During my PhD thesis I have demonstrated DE actuators based on elastomer layers several hundred nanometers thin generating 6 % strain applying voltages as low as 12 V. To build a sphincter (actuator) thousands of nanostructures have to be stacked realizing the force comparable to natural muscles. Therefore, this Bridge-application will focus on the sensing capability of dielectric elastomer transducers (DETs). Molecular beam deposition (MBD) will serve for the preparation of about a dozen nanometer-thin elastomer and metal layers. Pre-stretched nanometer-thin electrodes are intended to keep the whole DE-sensor as soft as the elastomer itself and avoid the stiffening by the gold. Tailored elastomers for MBD are proposed in collaboration with D. Opris (Laboratory of Functional Polymers, Empa) to obtain highly elastic films with significantly increased permittivity. Whereas, MBD is a flexible and extremely precise deposition technique, electro-spray deposition (ESD) of polymers is the cheaper alternative. Currently this setup has been assembled into vacuum atmosphere for enhanced homogeneity and reduced defect density within the elastomer membrane. I am convinced that this state-of-the-art technique allows realizing nanometer-thin DETs for the first time. For both MBD and ESD, spectroscopic ellipsometry will enable the growth control with nanometer precision. Finally, these fabrication techniques will serve for direct integration of the sensor without implying further geometrical restrictions to the medical implant. The resulting high-performance multi-layer sensors will remain operational even if one or the other layer fails due to breakdowns. The expected long-term reliability and low power compsuption permits the implanted dielectric elastomer sensor to be autonomous. With millisecond time response the functionality of artificial sphincters for incontinence treatments will be significantly enhanced. Here, several collaborations have been established: besides Myopowers S.A. (St. Louis, France), our partner in the nanotera.ch initiative, I am in contact with the team of N. Dhar (Wayne University, USA) seeking for artificial sphincters with smart pressure adaption. Colleagues from our department, including G. Rauter, like to implement the DET into sophisticated devices. Within the MIRACLE project the sensor arrays could become part of the endoscope that enables laser-based tissue cutting. Consequently, several patent applications can be filed, which should form a sound basis to establish a MedTech start-up company. AFM for nano-structural and -mechanical studies of dielectric actuators Research Project | 2 Project MembersAFM for nano-structural and -mechanical studies of dielectric actuators Multi-modal matching of two-dimensional images with three-dimensional data in the field of biomedical engineering Research Project | 3 Project MembersMulti-modal matching is understood as the automatic (elastic) alignment of data, termed regis-tration, from different imaging techniques using the characteristic anatomical features. While satisfying approaches for two-dimensional (2D) to 2D and three-dimensional (3D) to 3D data sets have been developed during the last two decades, the non-rigid 2D-3D registration belongs to the unsolved problems because of the larger degrees of freedom especially for high-resolution 'big data'. The need for 2D-3D registration, however, becomes more and more obvious, as besides the well-established histology, which highlights the functionality in tissue slices according to the selected stain, magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) 3D data with better and better spatial resolution and contrast have been acquired. The combination of the functional information from 2D images with the local physical quantities in 3D recorded, for example, by means of micro CT (µCT) and MR microscopy has been vital to (i) correct preparation artifacts in the histological slices applying the less detailed 3D data, to (ii) identify the issue types in 3D data using the functional information from histology in quantitative manner and to (iii) determine the optimized location and direction of histological slicing. The aim of the project is the development of algorithms for the automatic non-rigid multi-modal 2D-3D registration. Here, we will concentrate on registering histological sections with µCT-data. In a first stage, we will focus on the development of a sparse image registration approach that has the advantage of being robust and computationally efficient. The second stage uses the sparse registration as anchor points while delivering a dense multimodal registration of the two imaging modalities. Finally, the computational effort and the general usability will be optimized to allow the processing of large data sets that are characteristic for high-resolution 3D imaging in biomedical engineering. Tomography of microvascular structures in murine brain tumors Research Project | 2 Project MembersThe three-dimensional vascular structures down to the smallest capillaries have been of vital interest in cancer research because of the demand for alternatives to the established treatments (surgery, medication and radiation). The present research efforts range from in vivo imaging (MRI, US, and PET), via post mortem methods, including micro computed computer tomography. In a previous study, we showed that synchrotron radiation-based necessary spatial resolution and contrast to capture the smallest vessels from casts. Tumors with damaged vessel walls are inappropriate for casting. Therefore, phase tomography was applied to visualize the capillaries. Grating-based tomography yields the necessary contrast but vessels with a diameter smaller than 20 provides the necessary spatial resolution but hardly enough contrast. Consequently, we propose first to improve the spatial resolution of grating-based tomography, second to identify rather simple in-line tomography approaches such as the one introduced by Paganin searching for better contrast, and third to combine tomograms from both approaches to gain additional information toward the smallest capillaries. 1 1
Nano Engineered Neural Interfaces - NENI Research Project | 6 Project MembersAlzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive neurodegenerative disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills eventually leading to death from complete brain failure. It is the most common cause of dementia and affects more than 46 million people globally, with 500'000 new cases diagnosed annually in the United States alone. While there is still no cure for AD, there are several prescription drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat its symptoms. Recently, there has been growing excitement around treating neurological diseases using neuromodulation techniques. Flickering strobe lights at gamma-frequency of 40 Hz have shown very promising results in mouse models where microglia immune cells could be activated and contributed to degradation of amyloid-β proteins. Invasive neuromodulation methods can target very specific areas in the brain. The current modulation devices, however, are comparable to that of early cardiac pacemakers, leading to fibrotic encapsulation within weeks. This is mainly predicated on the neural probe's mechanical properties, given by the hard platinum/iridium electrodes from the semiconductor industry. Our proposed approach for ten thousand times softer electrodes is based on nano engineered neural interfaces (NENI) - hybrid microstructured polymer pads covered by ultra-thin and soft nanostructured metal/elastomer compounds. Our NENI probes will allow a rapid reconfiguration to pre-selected brain targets for a patient-specific anatomy and therefore enable the activation of microglia immune cells. This project is in collaboration with 5 project partners from around Switzerland: University Hospital Basel, Empa, PSI, FHNW, and University of Basel. In addition, two companies: Invibio Ltd/United Kingdom, a leading provider of polymeric biomaterials which have been used in around 9 million PEEK medical implants with more than 15 years of proven clinical history and Valtronic SA, a global contract manufacturer for the electronics of medical devices, are supporting this project.
Enhancing the capabilities of artificial muscle implants using low-voltage dielectric elastomer sensors Research Project | 1 Project MembersDielectric elastomer transducers (DET) exhibit a strain-stress behavior comparable to human tissues. During my PhD thesis I have demonstrated DE actuators based on elastomer layers several hundred nanometers thin generating 6 % strain applying voltages as low as 12 V. To build a sphincter (actuator) thousands of nanostructures have to be stacked realizing the force comparable to natural muscles. Therefore, this Bridge-application will focus on the sensing capability of dielectric elastomer transducers (DETs). Molecular beam deposition (MBD) will serve for the preparation of about a dozen nanometer-thin elastomer and metal layers. Pre-stretched nanometer-thin electrodes are intended to keep the whole DE-sensor as soft as the elastomer itself and avoid the stiffening by the gold. Tailored elastomers for MBD are proposed in collaboration with D. Opris (Laboratory of Functional Polymers, Empa) to obtain highly elastic films with significantly increased permittivity. Whereas, MBD is a flexible and extremely precise deposition technique, electro-spray deposition (ESD) of polymers is the cheaper alternative. Currently this setup has been assembled into vacuum atmosphere for enhanced homogeneity and reduced defect density within the elastomer membrane. I am convinced that this state-of-the-art technique allows realizing nanometer-thin DETs for the first time. For both MBD and ESD, spectroscopic ellipsometry will enable the growth control with nanometer precision. Finally, these fabrication techniques will serve for direct integration of the sensor without implying further geometrical restrictions to the medical implant. The resulting high-performance multi-layer sensors will remain operational even if one or the other layer fails due to breakdowns. The expected long-term reliability and low power compsuption permits the implanted dielectric elastomer sensor to be autonomous. With millisecond time response the functionality of artificial sphincters for incontinence treatments will be significantly enhanced. Here, several collaborations have been established: besides Myopowers S.A. (St. Louis, France), our partner in the nanotera.ch initiative, I am in contact with the team of N. Dhar (Wayne University, USA) seeking for artificial sphincters with smart pressure adaption. Colleagues from our department, including G. Rauter, like to implement the DET into sophisticated devices. Within the MIRACLE project the sensor arrays could become part of the endoscope that enables laser-based tissue cutting. Consequently, several patent applications can be filed, which should form a sound basis to establish a MedTech start-up company.
AFM for nano-structural and -mechanical studies of dielectric actuators Research Project | 2 Project MembersAFM for nano-structural and -mechanical studies of dielectric actuators
Multi-modal matching of two-dimensional images with three-dimensional data in the field of biomedical engineering Research Project | 3 Project MembersMulti-modal matching is understood as the automatic (elastic) alignment of data, termed regis-tration, from different imaging techniques using the characteristic anatomical features. While satisfying approaches for two-dimensional (2D) to 2D and three-dimensional (3D) to 3D data sets have been developed during the last two decades, the non-rigid 2D-3D registration belongs to the unsolved problems because of the larger degrees of freedom especially for high-resolution 'big data'. The need for 2D-3D registration, however, becomes more and more obvious, as besides the well-established histology, which highlights the functionality in tissue slices according to the selected stain, magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) 3D data with better and better spatial resolution and contrast have been acquired. The combination of the functional information from 2D images with the local physical quantities in 3D recorded, for example, by means of micro CT (µCT) and MR microscopy has been vital to (i) correct preparation artifacts in the histological slices applying the less detailed 3D data, to (ii) identify the issue types in 3D data using the functional information from histology in quantitative manner and to (iii) determine the optimized location and direction of histological slicing. The aim of the project is the development of algorithms for the automatic non-rigid multi-modal 2D-3D registration. Here, we will concentrate on registering histological sections with µCT-data. In a first stage, we will focus on the development of a sparse image registration approach that has the advantage of being robust and computationally efficient. The second stage uses the sparse registration as anchor points while delivering a dense multimodal registration of the two imaging modalities. Finally, the computational effort and the general usability will be optimized to allow the processing of large data sets that are characteristic for high-resolution 3D imaging in biomedical engineering.
Tomography of microvascular structures in murine brain tumors Research Project | 2 Project MembersThe three-dimensional vascular structures down to the smallest capillaries have been of vital interest in cancer research because of the demand for alternatives to the established treatments (surgery, medication and radiation). The present research efforts range from in vivo imaging (MRI, US, and PET), via post mortem methods, including micro computed computer tomography. In a previous study, we showed that synchrotron radiation-based necessary spatial resolution and contrast to capture the smallest vessels from casts. Tumors with damaged vessel walls are inappropriate for casting. Therefore, phase tomography was applied to visualize the capillaries. Grating-based tomography yields the necessary contrast but vessels with a diameter smaller than 20 provides the necessary spatial resolution but hardly enough contrast. Consequently, we propose first to improve the spatial resolution of grating-based tomography, second to identify rather simple in-line tomography approaches such as the one introduced by Paganin searching for better contrast, and third to combine tomograms from both approaches to gain additional information toward the smallest capillaries.
