Jun Chen, PhD

Assistant Professor
Department of Bioengineering
UCLA

Project Title: A Smart Stent Bioelectronics for Closed-Loop Management of Re-Stenosis

Mentors:
Paul Weiss, PhD - UCLA
Geoffrey Colby, MD, PhD - UCLA
Tzung Hsiai, MD, PhD - UCLA
Song Li, PhD - UCLA

Multidisciplinary Expertise:
Nanomaterials, biosensing, endovascular surgery, atherosclerosis, immunoengineering, biosafety

Project Description:
Up to 41% of cases witness in-stent re-stenosis (ISR) in the ensuing months after stenting surgery for the patients with arterial atherosclerosis, due to excess growth of endothelial tissue, plaque, or inflammatory scarring. Timely detection of ISR and then performing appropriate treatments play a pivotal role in helping patients achieve longer and healthier lives. To address this unmet clinical need, we propose smart stent bioelectronics as a new transformative technology for the closed-loop management of ISR. It will not only mechanically open the stenosed or partially blocked arteries but also spontaneously perform self-powered hemodynamic sensing by converting the hemodynamics into analyzable electrical signals for timely ISR diagnosis. Furthermore, the smart stent can also provide immediate intervention by vibratingly shaking down the re-stenotic plaques when interrogated with a transdermal time-varying magnetic field, which ultimately constructs a closed-loop management of ISR to promote cardiovascular healthcare and improve quality of life.