“Implantable and Wearable Microelectronic Devices to Improve Quality of Life for People with Disabilities”
Maysam Ghovanloo, Ph.D.
GT-Bionics Lab, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
Monday, January 26, 2015
3:05 pm
WEB 1230
Abstract
Implantable microelectronic devices (IMD) and neuroprostheses are finding applications in new therapies thanks to advancements in microelectronics, microsensors, RF communications, and medicine, which have resulted in embedding more functions in IMDs that occupy smaller space and consume less power, while offering therapies for more complex diseases and disabilities. I will address how we are pushing the limits on developing key building blocks for state-of-the-art IMDs, particularly on the analog front-end, RF back-end, and power management. IMDs have been quite successful in neuroprosthetic devices, such as cochlear implants and deep brain stimulators. They are also being considered for brain-computer interfacing (BCI) to enable individuals with severe physical disabilities to control their environments, particularly by accessing computers. Implantable BCIs, however, are highly invasive and it is not clear whether end users would accept them in presence of less invasive alternatives. At the GT-Bionics lab, we pursue implantable BCIs as advanced tools for neuroscience research on small freely behaving animal subjects. An example of these applications is a smart cage, the EnerCage, which can wirelessly power, communicate with, and track electronics implanted in or attached to small freely behaving animals. At the same time, we are exploring novel minimally-invasive methods for individuals with severe paralysis to make the best use of their remaining abilities to control their environments. An example of such technologies is a wireless and wearable brain-tongue-computer interface (BTCI), also known as the Tongue Drive System (TDS), which enables individuals with tetraplegia to control their environments using their voluntary tongue motion. We are also working on wearable devices that help the elderly to comply with their prescribed medication regiments and notify the emergency unit in the event of a fall.
Speaker Biography
Maysam Ghovanloo received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tehran, and the M.S. degree in biomedical engineering from the Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran in 1997. He also received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2003 and 2004.
Dr. Ghovanloo developed the first modular Patient Care Monitoring System in Iran where he also founded Sabz-Negar Rayaneh Inc. to manufacture physiology and pharmacology research laboratory instruments. From 2004 to 2007 he was an assistant professor in the Department of ECE at the North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. Since 2007 he has been with the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he is an associate professor and the founding director of the GT-Bionics Lab. He has authored or coauthored more than 150 peer-reviewed conference and journal publications on implantable microelectronic devices, integrated circuits and micro-systems for IMD applications, and modern assistive technologies.
Dr. Ghovanloo is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (2010-present) and IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems (2011-present). He served as an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, Part II (2008-2011), as well as a Guest Editor for the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits in 2011 and IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering in 2012. He has also served on the Imagers, MEMS, Medical and Displays subcommittee of the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) from 2009-2014. He has received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Tommy Nobis Barrier Breaker Award for Innovation, and Distinguished Young Scholar Award from the Association of Professors and Scholars of Iranian Heritage.