Bio-machines and Bio-manufacturing
Xuanhe Zhao,
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
While human tissues are mostly soft, wet and bioactive; machines are
commonly hard, dry and biologically inert. Bridging human-machine
interfaces is of imminent importance in addressing grand challenges in
health, security, sustainability and joy of living facing our society in
the 21st century. However, designing human-machine interfaces is
extremely challenging, due to the fundamentally contradictory properties
of human and machine. At MIT SAMs Lab, we propose to use tough
bioactive hydrogels to bridge human-machine interfaces. On one side,
bioactive hydrogels with similar physiological properties as tissues can
naturally integrate with human body, playing functions such as
scaffolds, catheters, drug reservoirs, and wearable devices. On the
other side, the hydrogels embedded with electronic and mechanical
components can control and response to external devices and signals. In
the talk, I will first present a bioinspired approach and a general
framework to design bioactive and robust hydrogels as the matrices for
human-machine interfaces. I will then discuss large-scale manufacturing
strategies to fabricate robust and bioactive hydrogels and hydrogel
electronics and machines, including 3D printing. Prototypes including
smart hydrogel band-aids, hydrogel robots and hydrogel circuits will be
further demonstrated.
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