Due to increasing demand for edge AI, the data amount from sensing devices for data processing needs to mitigated. To meet this requirement, the development of sensors inspired from the human sensory organs are of great interest. Human sensory systems are often based on sensory receptors connected with afferent neurons in which synaptic plasticity plays an important role in pre-processing of sensory signals. Through intelligent functions in human sensory organs, the signals are relayed to the brain and are further processed for perception, memory and control of motor neurons.

Here are the lists of topics which are currently being investigated in our group.

• Design and fabrication of various field-effect transistor sensors with intrinsic  synaptic functions mimicking mechanoreceptors, chemoreceptors and photoreceptors in human somatosensory systems.

• Development of neuromorphic engineering approaches employing machine learning for intelligent sensory perception. 

Stretchable electronic devices including light emitter, transistor, memory, sensor, nanogenerator and batteries have been extensively investigated for body-attachable wearable electronics. There are many potential applications of skin-attachable patches, in particular, for smart healthcare. For realization of stretchable patch-type bioelectronic systems, development of mechanically stretchable materials and sensor devices are of great importance for conformal attachment on human body and high signal to noise ratio. Current focus of our research is to develop stretchable physical, chemical and biological sensors based on nanomaterials including oxide semiconductors, organic semiconductors, and 2D nanomaterials. Stretchable sensors utilizing the various materials sensitive to the physical, chemical, and biological stimuli have been investigated in our group. Combining of stretchable sensing materials with 3D geometric engineering to secure the stability of the devices during normal human activities is an important approach of our work.

Here are the lists of topics which are currently being investigated in our group.

• Stretchable touch/force sensors for human-machine interfaces

• Stretchable strain, pressure and temperature sensors for monitoring of human motion and activities

• Stretchable photodetectors for on-body optical physiological monitoring

• Stretchable chemical sensors for detection of gas molecules from human breadth and body odor

• Stretchable electrochemical biosensors for detection of proteins, metabolites, neurotransmitters and cytokines from body fluids

Integration of various components including sampling device, stretchable sensors, power sources and circuits for signal processing and data transmission is of great importance in developing wearable electronics, in particular, body-attachable patch platform.  The physical sensor-integrated patches can be used for monitoring of human activities, functions of internal organs and physiological parameters. In addition, chemical or biological sensor-integrated patches can be used for detection of biomarkers for disease diagnostics, preventive medicine, and rehabilitation, etc. The goal of our research is to develop the integrated stretchable sensor patches by integrating stretchable sensors and application technology for smart healthcare.

Here are the lists of topics which are currently being investigated in our group.

• Wearable microfluidics-integrated biosensor patches for continuous monitoring of metabolites in sweat

• Wearable microfluidics-integrated biosensor patches for immunodetection of biomarkers in capillary blood or interstitial fluid.

Biosensor is an essential component for biosystems for many applications including disease diagnostics, prognostics, prosthetics, environmental monitoring and drug discovery, etc. We have been developing novel biosensors based on electrochemical and optical transducing principles using highly sensitive nanostructured materials. Use of nanosturctured materials in biosensors can give ultra-sensitivity, extreme low limit of detection, high specificity, and wide dynamic range. For realization of such biosensing devices, development of nanostructured materials and design of new concept device structures are critically important. Our goal of research is to develop the high performance biosensor devices utilizing the functional nanomaterials and nanomaterials sensitive to the biochemical changes caused by interactions with biomolecules in sample. Species for detection include small biomolecules, metabolites and proteins related to cell metabolism and diseases. 

For this purpose, we are investigating the various nanostructured materials and biosensors. Here are the detailed topics related to biosensors.

• low-dimensional and hierarchical nanohybrid materials for biosensors

• Imaging-based fluorescence biosensors for detection of small molecules, protein and bacteria

• Electrochemical biosensors for detection of proteins, metabolites and bacteria

LOC (Lab-on-a-chip) or micro-TAS (micro-total analysis systems) by integrating various components including biosensors, cell culture chamber and microfluidic devices are promising for a myriad of applications.  The primary goal of this research is to develop the miniaturized systems that can monitor biological processes in real-time and multiplexed manners based on the array of electrochemical or fluorescent biosensors for drug discovery, biomedical diagnostics, food safety and environmental monitoring. For this purpose, it is very important to develop the integration technology such as fabrication of biosensor arrays, microfluidic devices, and packaging. Through the development, we hope to apply biosensor technology to a variety of biomedical and environmental applications.

The main themes related to the biosensor-integrated platforms, the following topics are being investigated.

• LOC (Lab-on-a-chip) or mico-TAS (total analysis systems) devices for drug discovery

• Biosensor-integrated cell culture systems for continuous monitoring of secreted biomolecules from cells

• Smartphone-based fluorescence biosensing platforms for mobile disease diagnostics

• Biosensor-integrated IOT systems for food safety and environmental monitoring