Stretchable microneedle electrode arrays Zhao Research Group
Personalized medicine is getting better as new discoveries are making it easier than ever to keep tabs on your health. With devices you can wear and tests you can do at home, checking things like your heart rate and blood sugar levels is simpler than before. But sometimes, our bodies just don’t get along with these health-tracking devices.
Hangbo Zhao, a researcher at the University of Southern California (USC), is working on fixing this issue. He’s designing new sensors that are super flexible and bendy, so they’re more comfortable to wear. His latest invention, tiny soft needles, can even track your health for a long time without being bothered. This breakthrough was even featured on the cover of Science Advances.
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Transforming healthcare with flexible microneedle technology
Microneedles are tiny tools used in important medical procedures like stimulating the brain and checking for signs of good health. But the ones we have now are stiff and can’t move well with the body. Hangbo Zhao’s research is changing that. He’s creating microneedles that can bend and stretch, fitting comfortably with the body’s movements.
At USC, Hangbo Zhao and his team have come up with a special way to make microneedles. They combine methods like laser cutting, crafting tiny objects, and printing to create microneedles that can stretch significantly, from 60% to 90%. They have the ability to customize the appearance and functionality of the microneedles to suit various requirements.
Insights from the deep sea
Hangbo Zhao found inspiration for his groundbreaking technology in an unexpected place: the deep sea. By examining how the muscles of a sea slug behaved electrically, Zhao and his team demonstrated that microneedle electrodes could have widespread applications. This finding opened doors for lots of medical uses, like keeping track of brain and nerve activity or finding issues with muscles and nerves.