BioMEMS for processing and testing of hydrogel-based bio-interfaces

A BioMEMS platform for development, processing and testing of hydrogels is presented. It is based on standard silicon micromachining including smart assembly and interconnection techniques. Hydrogel materials can be brought into the device by several methods. Material tests and functionalizations of the hydrogels can take place in the system as well as cell cultivation for biotests. First results are promising for easy and parallel testing of several materials / samples and for further biomedical applications

Automated cell cultivation and analysis: an approach for a user interface design

While automation is standard in most industrial and research fields, cell cultivation is still dominated “handling”, manual processes. To improve the situation, our group focusses on the development of a bio-centred, automated cell cultivation tool. Modular design may help to realize a variety of experiments. Cultivation processes are observed and controlled via a graphical user interface. This article describes the systematic approach, the overall speci-fication (with process analyses) and the preliminary results for the prototype of a graphical user interface

Energy harvesting for active implants: powering a ruminal pH-monitoring system

Energy harvesting is a feasible method to prolong service life of implanted devices. We present a thermal energy harvesting approach for a ruminal pH-monitoring probe in cattle. Thermoelectric generators utilize the temperature gradient between the probe and the ruminal fluid during water intake. The in vivo experiment yielded a maximum electric power of 32 μW