Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Candidate Seminar
Gengxi Lu
Postdoctoral Scholar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Wednesday, July 24, 2024, 9:30-10:30 am
B02 CSL Auditorium or Online via Zoom
Title: Stimulate and Sense: Personalized Ultrasound
Abstract: Neuromodulation-based therapy has traditionally relied on invasive bioelectronics, requiring surgical implantation at specific locations to achieve desired therapeutic outcomes. However, recent advancements in ultrasound technology have opened new avenues for minimally invasive and noninvasive neuromodulation. This talk explores the transformative potential of ultrasound in neuromodulation, emphasizing its capability to noninvasively stimulate and sense deep body organs.
I will delve into the principles of ultrasonic neuromodulation, highlighting three innovative approaches: wireless ultrasonic implants, direct ultrasound neuromodulation, and sonogenetics. These techniques promise minimally invasive to noninvasive methods for modulating neural circuits, offering safer and more accessible alternatives to conventional bioelectronic methods. First, I will discuss flexible and multifunctional ultrasound implants for through-body energy transfer and neuromodulation, which can significantly reduce the invasiveness of traditional bioimplants. Second, I will introduce direct ultrasound neuromodulation, which can noninvasively stimulate retinal neurons by activating natural mechanosensitive ion channels and partially restore vision. Third, I will explore the use of sonogenetics to proactively express mechanosensitive ion channels in targeted neurons which are naturally not sensitive to ultrasound, allowing them to be controlled with ultrasound. As an example, I will demonstrate an ultrasonic implant-free pacemaker that can sense and modulate heartbeats.
Finally, I will explore the integration of wearable devices and artificial intelligence with ultrasound technology. Leveraging the noninvasive sensing and stimulating capabilities of ultrasound, wearable devices and AI-driven algorithms can continuously monitor patient health, optimize treatment parameters for individuals, and improve therapeutic outcomes. This synergy between ultrasound, wearables, and AI paves the way for a new era of personalized medicine, where treatments are tailored to the unique needs of each patient and are readily available in daily life.
Gengxi Lu is a Postdoctoral Scholar at MIT's Mechanical Engineering department, working on AI-empowered wearable ultrasound devices for hand tracking and long-term neuromodulation. Previously, he earned his Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 2023, where his research focused on ultrasound neuromodulation, functional imaging, and the design and fabrication of ultrasound transducers and arrays. He was also an intern at Meta Reality Lab, exploring in-air ultrasound for motion detection with AI. In 2017, he received his bachelor’s degree in Acoustics and Physics from Nanjing University, China. He is the recipient of the Alfred E. Mann Innovation in Engineering Doctoral Fellowship.