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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BioWings (Bio-compatible electrostrictive smart materials for future generation of medical micro-electro- mechanical systems)

Teaser

Summary

Miniature devices revolutionize the healthcare sector and are constantly getting closer and closer to the body. Diabetic patients perform routine glucose tests using pen-sized devices, police carry breathalyzers for alcohol screening, and intensive research is performed on implants that are implanted in the body and e.g. can continuously measure patients\' heartbeat or can release medication directly into the blood as demanded. And that\'s just the tip of the iceberg! The global demographic development, with rapid population growth and aging, puts the global health sector under strong pressure. It increases the need for intelligent, efficient and affordable biomedical systems that can handle among others lifestyle diseases and aging of health systems.

BioWings is FET-Open project aiming to promote the development of biocompatible materials for micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), so that non-toxic miniature unit can be made and integrated with diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic functions suitable for implantation in the human body. There are already several micro-electro-mechanical systems, but they often contain lead elements that are not compatible and harmful to humans. BioWings aim to develop biocompatible materials with properties similar to the best piezoelectric materials (i.e. PZT) but without lead or the other harmful elements. Therefore, BioWings set up to develop Bio-compatible electrostrictive smart materials for future generation for medical micro-electro-mechanical systems. In BioWings, we work in particular with cerium-based oxide materials that are non-toxic, environmentally friendly and can be well-functioned in low energy devices. Cerium-based oxide materials are also fully compatible with silicon, allowing the integration with conventional Si technology without the need for an intermediate, expensive layer.

In collaboration between partners from Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy and Israel, the researchers are aim at achieving a better understanding of the electrostrictive properties and behaviour of cerium-based oxide materials and show how these properties can best be tackled so that oxide materials can be used as the base material in many different kinds of MEMS applications. If the group, consisting of industrial, medical and research partners, succeed in creating a prototype that integrates cerium oxide into a biomedical electromechanical system, it can revolutionize the medical industry and bring about a paradigm shift in terms of new materials application.

Work performed

The key objectives of the BioWings project are dealing with exploring the fundamental boundaries of the electrostriction phenomenon in ceria, understanding the mechanism underlying it, and defining the methodology to design and implement actuators with the characteristics required by the specific medical applications. During this reported period, we have implemented and carried out activities to achieve the project objectives and deliver results and outputs as described in the project proposal. Monitoring and control of the project implementation to keep the project on track and achieve the results of the project were carried out through monthly meetings between the WPs, and 6 months meeting of the whole consortium. During this period, DTU who is the project coordinator and responsible for the regular monitoring of the project, ensure that the partner contributes actively to the project as described in the project description and track any deviation and redirect activities to get back on track.

We have delivered a detailed report which includes information about activities carried out, outputs delivered, and expenditure incurred. Here we will only describe selected important results achieved during this reporting period:

1. Dissemination and communications: website, different social media, participating in 4 different international events to promote Biowings, published scientific publications
2. Discovered new electrodes with excellent mechanical integrity
3. Extend our understanding of how to control and tune the frequency of the materials via doping
4. Develop a generic model for 3D numerical simulation of the acoustofluidic device
5. Developed a protocol for fabrication of MEMS-based CGO
6. Discover the relationship between the film thickness and the ability to excite different resonances in the material
7. Designed different new acoustofluidic separation devices

Final results

BioWings will have a three-fold impact at research, industrial and societal level: on one side, it opens a new path for electrostrictive materials and prepares the ground for investigating other highly defective oxidesâ€™ properties in magnetostriction, ferroelectricity, and electro-optical coupling. At the industrial level, BioWings will validate a new and more effective, biocompatible and environmentally sustainable concept of MEMS, for its subsequent transition to the industrial stage. In turn, this is poised to open a range of new applications benefitting the society, like implantable devices like cochlear implants, artificial retinas, neural interfaces, implantable blood pressure sensors, and drug delivery systems, or novel micro-nano biosystems for diagnostics, just to name only those relating to the healthcare domain.