Soft Implantable Bioelectronic Interfaces
Soft bioelectronics is an emerging technological solution to personalized neural implants. The combination of device miniaturization and biomechanical mimetics promises man-made implants that interface intimately with the nervous system, trigger minimal, if any, adverse tissue response, and offer unprecedented means of dialogue with neural tissue.
The soft neurotechnology employs elastic and engineered materials and miniaturized chips processed and integrated with standard microfabrication to tailor the geometry of the implant to the anatomy and dynamics of the tissue and provide precise electrode layouts.
This talk will review the materials, manufacturing and characteristics of thin-film based soft implants and will report on the complexity and effort associated with translation and engineering of soft implantable bioelectronics for therapeutical use.
Biography
Stéphanie P. Lacour holds the Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Neuroprosthetic Technology at the School of Engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. She received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from INSA de Lyon, France, and completed postdoctoral research at Princeton University (USA) and the University of Cambridge (UK). She joined EPFL in 2011. Since January 2017, she is full professor in Microengineering and Bioengineering at EPFL. She is a co-founding member and current director of EPFL Center for Neuroprosthetics, now located at EPFL satellite – Campus Biotech in Geneva.
She is the recipient of the 2006 MIT TR35, the 2011 Zonta award, the 2014 WEF Young Scientist, and she was selected as one of the 2015 World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders.