Symposium SM3-Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces

The convergence of biomaterials and electronic devices provides an intellectual landscape that spans a variety of disciplines including materials science and engineering, physics, chemistry, polymer sciences, and medicine. The potential impact of applications described in this symposium would be of interest to a broad audience of scientists in the previously listed disciplines. There is also growing interest in the interface of biomaterials and nervous system from professionals in human health, biomedical engineering, and neuroscience. Neural prostheses are devices that are implanted into the nervous system for bidirectional communication (recording from and stimulation of neural tissue) to treat or assist people with disabilities of neural function. There have been several major advances in neural interface technologies during past couple of years, however, the engineering of stable and reliable electronic-neural tissue interface is essential for long-term functionality of these implants. The quality of signal transduction between the electrodes and neurons depends on physical and chemical properties of the electrode-tissue interface that ultimately relies on the specifics of the material design that enables a long-term stable and functional interface. The challenge for materials science is to design and develop advanced multifunctional biomaterials to safely integrate with neural tissue with minimal biological response. Substrates and electrode materials must meet strict electrochemical requirements such as long-term stability, biocompatibility, and resistance to corrosion in physiological environment. Furthermore, the implant materials should match the mechanical properties of surrounding tissue to prevent injury due to micromotion and allow for adequate exchange of nutrients and waste so that the surrounding tissue remain healthy. This symposium will focus on the latest advances in biomaterials to control/engineer neuron-electronic interfaces to produce stable and functional implants with greater longevity than what is possible today. Session topics will spotlight the latest efforts to achieve the most effective and safest strategies to communicate with neurons.

Topics will include:

Drug delivery to the brain
Nanomaterials for neural interfaces
Soft and stretchable electronics for neural interfaces
Biostability of the neuroprosthetic devices
Signal transduction at electrode tissue interface
Integrated sensors and recording
Neurochemical sensing
Lab-on-a-chip devices
Neuron guidance, immobilization and patterning of axon guidance molecules
Biocompatibility of neural electrodes with surrounding tissues
Neural electrode materials, high density microelectrodes for neural interfaces
Electroactive materials, organic and inorganic electronic materials
Limb prostheses, artificial skin, artificial retina, cochlear implants, etc.
Neural tissue engineering, bioactive scaffolds for nerve regeneration

Invited Speakers:

SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_0 (Case Western University, USA)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_1 (University of Michigan, USA)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_2 (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_3 (University of Pittsburgh, USA)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_4 (Imperial College London, United Kingdom)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_5 (Biotectix, LLC, USA)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_6 (University of Michigan, USA)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_7 (National Institutes of Health-NINDS, USA)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_8 (Harvard University, USA)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_9 (Ecole nationale supérieure des Mines, France)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_10 (University of Delaware, USA)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_11 (PARC, a Xerox company, USA)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_12 (Columbia University, USA)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_13 (University of Freiburg, Germany)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_14 (University of Wollongong, Australia)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_15 (University of Southern California, USA)
SM3_Advanced Biomaterials for Neural Interfaces_16 (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA)