MEMS, Microfluidics and Microsystems Executive Review

BioMEMS for heart repairs

According to Professor Pierre Dupont, there are currently two approaches to perform repairs inside the heart – open heart surgery and catheter interventions. Dupont, who recently was awarded a $5 million NIH grant to perform work in this area, believes there is a better way.  Interestingly, he picked MEMS as the technology of choice for his project and is collaborating with Microfabrica, a microdevice manufacturer based in California.  We recently spoke with Professor Dupont about his goals and why the size advantages of MEMS really matter in this case.

Stem cells and microfluidics

Aldagen, a venture funded startup with a set of technologies to identify and isolate stem and progenitor cells, has recently announced a partnership with IMT to develop a microfluidic device for clinical cell sorting.  We recently spoke with the President and COO of the company, Ed Field, and discussed Aldagen’s business model, marketing and regulatory approval efforts as well as its ongoing round of financing.

Biomedical applications for MEMS and microfabrication

BioMEMS has been talked about as one of the most promising areas of microfabrication technologies.  We recently spoke with Dr. Leslie Field and Neha Choksi of SmallTech Consulting  about the current and future applications of BioMEMS as well as technologies which are now being commercialized by startups and Fortune 500 companies.

Fidelica's MEMS based fingerprint sensors

Fidelica Microsystems is a start up company with MEMS based technology for fingerprint sensor applications.  We recently spoke with Dr. S K Ganapathi, the founder and CEO of the company, about Fidelica's latest progress and market outlook for its fingerprint sensors.

Bourne Research launches bioMEMS report series

(Press Release) -- Bourne Research, the leading provider of market analysis on emerging technologies, today launched The Bourne Report – Medical Device Quarterly, a new report series dedicated to covering the use of MEMS and Nanotechnology in medicine.  Geared toward physicians, life science researchers, medical device OEMs, hospital administrators and insurers, each quarterly report covers the next-generation technologies, products, applications and trends that are not only improving patient diagnosis and treatment, but will ultimately reduce healthcare costs.

How to launch a BioMEMS start up

CardioMEMS is an emerging company which has developed BioMEMS technology for treatment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) and Heart Failure (HF) disease.  The company announced last month that it has completed its series C round of financing, raising $16 million of equity funding. 

Medtronic, a new investor, led the round and previous investors Boston Millennia Partners, Foundation Medical Partners, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Guidant Corporation, and Arboretum Ventures also participated.  Briefly prior to that, CardioMEMS announced the FDA clearance and U.S. market launch of the company’s EndoSure™ Wireless AAA Pressure Measurement System. 

We recently spoke with CardioMEMS’ President and CEO David Stern.

Bio MEMS and Microsystems for Stem Cell Research

There is currently much ongoing activity in stem cell and artificial tissue engineering research.  For MEMS engineers, many opportunities exist in development of devices which allow biologists to easily run experiments that were not possible even a few years ago.