IEEE CASS Rio de Janeiro Chapter

CASS Distinguished Lecturer Sameer Sonkusale Abstract   This talk will explore the new realm of making flexible sensors and diagnostics for point of care diagnostics. Specific applications range from early screening in resource poor settings, to smart wound dressings for chronic wounds. The key contributions of the work are on utilization of locally sourced universally available, low-cost materials such as paper, threads and textile, and close integration of such devices with  miniaturized and integrated circuits and systems. In the first part of the talk, I will focus on the development of sensors and diagnostics on paper as an unconventional substrate. Fabrication of these devices rely on low cost, room temperature processing using a combination of screen and wax printing using locally available materials. Readout is achieved using a CMOS based low power cell phone accessory for point of care diagnostics. Other versions include using the imager on the smart phone itself for readout. An application in monitoring saliva for stomach ulcer screening will be discussed for paper diagnostics, In the second part of the talk, I will discuss our work on thread as an unconventional substrate for the realization of microfluidics, sensors and electronics for diagnostics. Beyond serving as an ideal platform for disposable lab on chip applications, thread also serves as an ideal platform for wearable and implantable application where softness, flexibility and the possibility of an intimate interface with skin and tissue is important. Application in chronic wound monitoring, smart surgical sutures and sweat monitoring will be shown. The talk will be interspersed with knowledge gaps and how the biomedical circuits and systems community can help address those in near term and long term. Short-bio   Sameer Sonkusale is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tufts University, where he holds joint appointments in the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical and Biological Engineering. He also served as a visiting professor at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital of the Harvard Medical School during 2011-2012 and 2018-2019, respectively. In 2012-2013, Dr. Sonkusale also served as the Associate Dean of Graduate Education in the School of Engineering at Tufts University. He currently directs an interdisciplinary research group, the Nano Lab, which focuses on developing new devices and systems for healthcare, biology, life sciences, and the environment. Dr. Sonkusale is a prolific inventor of several biomedical devices, including "smart bandages," "smart sutures," and "lab-on-a-pill." His innovation on "lab-on-a-pill" was listed as one of the top eight biomedical innovations in the world for the year 2020 in the STAT Madness challenge. The technologies developed in his lab have been licensed to several companies and have resulted in the creation of venture backed startup companies. Dr. Sonkusale earned his MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and has received several awards, including the National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2010. He was also honored with a Distinguished Alumni award from his alma mater, BITS Pilani. He is Radha K Maheshwari Distinguished Lecturers  at USU in 2023, and IEEE CAS Distinguished Lecturer in 2024-2025. Dr. Sonkusale is also an alumnus of the National Academy of Engineering US Frontiers of Engineering meeting in 2015, and the National Academy of Sciences Arab-America Frontiers meeting in 2014 and 2016. Dr. Sonkusale serves on the editorial boards of several prominent journals, including Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group), IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems, PLoS One, and Electronic Letters. He is a senior member of the IEEE and a member of OSA, MRS, BMES, and AAAS.   Register Now CASS RJ Instagram: @ieee_cass_rj