Electronic tissue technologies may soon enable the replacement or repair of damaged human organs. A regenerative surgeon will place a bioelectronic device inside the patient’s body, where it will blend with host tissues and execute a therapeutic program.  The bioelectronic implant may deliver a battery of physical and biochemical stimuli and replacement cells designed to assist the endogenous ability of the body for repair. Boosting regenerative capacity will have high impact in the injured central nervous system, where failure of self-repair following trauma, stroke  or neurodegeneration can have profound and permanent consequences on the patient’s quality of life. 

Although neuroprosthetic implants have already made an impact at the clinic (e.g. continuous deep bran stimulation can alleviate symptoms in Parkinson’s disease), they do not yet achieve regeneration. Our long term vision is to develop implantable technologies that deliver a permanent therapeutic effect by orchestrating repair in the nervous system.

To make this possible, we are investigating:

• micro-technologies (e.g. 3D printing) for integrating soft bio-materials into implantable devices that seamlessly blend with neural tissues.
• neural interfaces with a wide range of functions (e.g. electrical, optical and pharmacological stimulation, delivery of cells).
• modulation of the injury environment with spatial and temporal precision as a way to promote regeneration in damaged neural tissues.