Research Objective :
Organ-on-chip (OoC) is a remarkable example of the convergence of biology and microengineering. OoC has a great potential in revolutionizing the current existing in-vitro approach in drug discovery and development, resulting in a reduction in the needs of animal experiment and accelerate the research and development process for future precision and personalised medicine. However, the complexity of the system is a hurdle in the transfer of OoC system from laboratory to large scale manufacturing and commercial application. The miniaturisation and integration of sensing and actuation components is an important aspect to be addressed to ensure manufacturability of the system. Moreover, a closed loop control system is required to create a smart OoC system that can operate dynamically to process the information and make decisions in a predictive or adaptive manner.
The objective of this proposed research project is to develop a smart OoC system by utilising multimode Lamb waves for sensing, actuation, and control, integrated within a microfluidic system. The action will combine the researcher expertise and experience in higher-order multimode Lamb wave, microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and smart system integration, with the supervisors and the host institute experiences in acoustic wave sensor and the integration with microfluidics for biological application. Furthermore, the action will be complemented by a secondment in a non-academic partner that is intended for translational research to bring the technological solution into medical practice. The successful result of this action will contribute to the development of cost-effective, automated smart OoC system that is suitable for large scale manufacturing to bridge the gap between laboratory and commercial application for drug discovery and future personalised medicine.