Research

Our research group is dedicated to developing real-time continuous biophysical signal monitoring systems to advance personalized healthcare. By enabling early disease detection, precise therapeutic interventions, and remote patient monitoring, our work aims to enhance patient convenience while reducing healthcare costs, ultimately contributing to the implementation of next-generation digital healthcare systems. 

Given that over 60% of the human body is composed of fluids, body fluid monitoring is critical for accurately assessing health status and detecting pathological changes at an early stage. To address this, we are developing wearable and implantable bioelectronic medical devices designed to monitor various physiological fluids, including cerebrospinal fluid, maternal breast milk, plasma, urine, lymphatic fluid, and sweat.

Our wearable devices integrate bioimpedance, optical sensing, ultrasound, and triboelectric/piezoelectric technologies to enable non-invasive, real-time fluid monitoring. Meanwhile, our implantable devices utilize polymer nanocomposites, metal-based strain gauges, and triboelectric/piezoelectric mechanisms to measure pressure, movement, and volumetric changes within internal organs with high precision. By combining bioelectronics, energy harvesting, and digital health technologies, our research aims to revolutionize early diagnostics, personalized treatment approaches, and remote healthcare solutions. Ultimately, we seek to pioneer the future of patient-centered, efficient, and accessible digital healthcare systems, driving innovation at the intersection of biomedical engineering and healthcare technology.

Our research focuses on developing bioresorbable electronics that naturally degrade within the body, eliminating the need for secondary surgical removal, a common drawback of traditional implants. Conventional implantable devices require additional procedures once their functional lifespan ends, leading to infection risks, postoperative complications, prolonged recovery periods, and increased medical costs, all of which place a significant burden on patients. To overcome these challenges, we are investigating bioresorption mechanisms to design devices that remain functionally stable over extended periods before safely degrading. By advancing implantable medical technology, our work aims to enhance patient safety, reduce healthcare costs, and improve overall medical system efficiency. Through the development of next-generation bioresorbable electronics, we seek to revolutionize minimally invasive and patient-friendly medical solutions, ultimately transforming the future of personalized healthcare. 

Our research team focuses on energy harvesting technologies, specifically developing innovative strategies to efficiently capture and convert ambient mechanical energy into electrical power. Our work aims to reduce battery dependence and enable sustainable, long-term power solutions by leveraging Triboelectric Nanogenerators (TENGs)—a cutting-edge technology that utilizes the triboelectric effect and electrostatic induction to generate electricity from mechanical motions such as vibration, pressure, and friction. By designing and optimizing TENGs with various operational modes—including contact-separation, lateral sliding, single-electrode, and freestanding triboelectric-layer configurations—we seek to integrate these systems into wearable devices, medical sensors, IoT applications, and environmental energy harvesting systems.

TENGs offer several advantages, including low cost, simple fabrication, lightweight properties, and compact design, making them highly suitable for implantable devices without imposing additional physical burdens on the patient. By addressing one of the most critical limitations of implantable devices—the need for battery replacement surgeries—TENG-based energy harvesters can significantly enhance device longevity and patient safety. Additionally, by harnessing ultrasound as an external mechanical energy source, we aim to further enhance energy conversion efficiency, ensuring reliable power generation for biomedical applications.

Beyond serving as a power source, TENGs can also function as self-powered biosensors for real-time physiological monitoring or as bioelectronic stimulators for neural modulation and tissue regeneration. Our ultimate goal is to develop next-generation energy harvesting technologies that can be applied to biomedical energy sources, self-powered biosignal sensors, and autonomous electrical stimulation systems. Through these innovations, we aim to establish a personalized healthcare infrastructure and contribute to the advancement of sustainable and eco-friendly energy solutions for the future.