Xiaoyue Ni, Ph.D.*
Postdoctoral Fellow
Northwestern University

"A Convergence of Epidermal Electronics and Programmable Matter for Pervasive Healthcare"

Abstract:
The scarcity of medical resources poses severe confrontations in human health, well-being, and even humanity. Remotely deployed devices provide unprecedented opportunities for ubiquitous and sustainable healthcare. The growing availability of wearable technologies and smart materials offers potential capabilities in continuous monitoring and adaptive behavior. Yet challenges remain in advanced monitoring modalities and multifunctionalities. At the same time, the rapid advancement in internet of objects (IoT), 5G communication, and artificial intelligence have implications in predictive analytics and connected care but also urge the need for new forms of digital-physical interfaces for autonomous and high-performance medicine.

In this talk, I will introduce two platform technologies that pave the way for precision diagnostics and smart therapeutics: 1) epidermal electronics for mechano-acoustic sensing of human signals; 2) programmable matter for artificial biomaterials with digital access to the structure, process, and properties. First, I will show how a soft, wireless device that incorporates a high-bandwidth motion sensor, when conformally placed on the suprasternal notch, captures broad classes of physiological information and precision kinematics of the core body. Next, I will describe design, fabrication, and characterization methodologies that leverage dislocation-mediated plasticity for a fundamental understanding of complex microstructural mechanics, active metastructures for advanced strain-field engineering, and conformal surface wave detection for non-destructive testing. Based on the available technologies, I will conclude by discussing opportunities in developing human-centered materials intelligence -- with material properties and human signals digitized in a loop, the materials can sense body signals, transform and adapt according to user actions or status. The resulting real-time human-material interaction will serve as an essential basis for future pervasive biomedical systems.

Bio:
Xiaoyue Ni is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Center for Bio-Integrated Electronics at Northwestern University, where she works with Prof. John A. Rogers on a wearable device for continuous, noninvasive monitoring of human body mechanics and tissue-level diagnosis. She also develops advanced metastructures for active and smart materials. She received her Ph.D. degree in Materials Science from the California Institute of Technology in 2017, where she worked on nanomechanics under the supervision of Prof. Julia R. Greer. Her thesis focused on resolving fundamental physics of dislocation-mediated plasticity. She received her M.S. degree in Materials Science from Caltech in 2014. She holds a B.S. degree in Physics and Mathematics with a Minor in Economics from Marietta College in 2012.

Host: Stas Emelianov

Tuesday, February 11
11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Emory HSRB E160
Video Conference: Whitaker 3115

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