John A. Rogers, Ph.D.

Researchers may have found a way to make the invisible visible when it comes to detecting small yet life-threatening complications after surgery.

Leaks of the acidic fluid from the digestive tract into the body’s surrounding tissues following a gastric or colorectal procedure can become a severe problem—especially so because the condition can be hidden from ultrasound exams as well as CT and MRI scans.

Known as anastomotic leaks, they can bring severe pain, high fevers and a rigid abdomen, as well as septic infections, and may require intensive care… Continue reading.

Scientists have developed a wireless, battery-free implant capable of monitoring dopamine signals in the brain in real-time in small animal models, an advance that could aid in understanding the role neurochemicals play in neurological disorders.

The device, detailed in a study published in ACS Nano, activates or inhibits specific neurons in the brain using light, a technique known as optogenetic stimulation. It also records dopamine activity in freely behaving subjects without the need for bulky or prohibitive sensing equipment, said John Rogers, Ph.D., the Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Neurological Surgery, and a co-author of the study… Continue reading.

It’s neither a bird nor a plane, but a winged microchip as small as a grain of sand that can be carried by the wind as it monitors such things as pollution levels or the spread of airborne diseases.

The tiny microfliers, whose development by engineers at Northwestern University was detailed in an article published by Nature this week, are being billed as the smallest-ever human-made flying structures.

Device monitors early signs, disease progression and response to treatment

The skin mounted sensor is soft, flexible and comfortable to wear.

A research team led by Northwestern Engineering bioelectronics pioneer John A. Rogers has received a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue developing a novel wearable device and set of algorithms specifically tailored to catch early signs and monitor progression of COVID-19.

In partnership with researchers at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Rogers launched the device in April. The NSF funding will help Rogers and his team incorporate more advanced data analytics into the device and add a sensor to measure oxygen levels in the blood.

This project is among the latest at Northwestern to receive a rapid response research (RAPID) grant from the NSF, which has called for immediate proposals that have potential to address the spread of COVID-19.

“Our device addresses a key issue in the COVID-19 pandemic: the limited capacity of healthcare systems,” Rogers said. “By continuously monitoring high-risk individuals, such as healthcare workers and the elderly, we can minimize the number of unnecessary hospital visits and provide an early warning to enable preventive measures… Continue reading.

Wireless sensor gently sits on throat to monitor coughs, fever, respiratory activity

The more we learn about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the more unknowns seem to arise. These ever-emerging mysteries highlight the desperate need for more data to help researchers and physicians better understand — and treat — the extremely contagious and deadly disease.

Researchers at Northwestern University and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago have developed a novel wearable device and are creating a set of data algorithms specifically tailored to catch early signs and symptoms associated with COVID-19 and to monitor patients as the illness progresses… Continue reading.

Northwestern Engineering’s John Rogers, the Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Neurological Surgery, has been honored with the election to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).

NAM, previously known as the Institute of Medicine, is one of three academies that make up the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in the US, and is one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. NAM serves as a source of expertise by providing independent, evidence-based scientific and policy advice to inspire action across the private and public sectors regarding critical issues in health, medicine and science… Continue reading.

A team of neuroscientists and engineers has developed a tiny, implantable device that has potential to help people with bladder problems bypass the need for medication or electronic stimulators.

The team — from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago — created a soft, implantable device that can detect overactivity in the bladder and then use light from tiny, biointegrated LEDs to tamp down the urge to urinate.

The device works in laboratory rats and one day may help people who suffer incontinence or frequently feel the need to urinate… Continue reading.

Northwestern Engineering’s John A. Rogers has received the 2019 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Materials Engineering from The Franklin Institute, one of the oldest centers for science education and development in the country.

Rogers is the Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and professor of biomedical engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering, professor of neurological surgery in the Feinberg School of Medicine, and director of the Center for Bio-integrated Electronics. He also is a member of the Simpson Querrey Institute, and has affiliate appointments in chemistry, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering and computer science.

The Franklin Institute cited Rogers “for pioneering the engineering of flexible and stretchable electronic systems for e-health and exploratory neuroscience… Continue reading.

The world’s smallest wearable, battery-free device has been developed by Northwestern Medicine and Northwestern Engineering scientists to measure exposure to light across multiple wavelengths, from the ultra violet (UV) to visible and even infrared parts of the solar spectrum. It can record up to three separate wavelengths of light at one time.

The device’s underlying physics and extensions of the platform to a broad array of clinical applications are reported in a study published December 5 in Science Translational Medicine. These foundational concepts form the basis of consumer devices launched in November to alert consumers to their UVA exposure, enabling them to take action to protect their skin from sun damage.

When the solar-powered, virtually indestructible device was mounted on human study participants, it recorded multiple forms of light exposure during outdoor activities, even in the water. The device monitored therapeutic UV light in clinical phototherapy booths for psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, as well as blue light phototherapy for newborns with jaundice in the neonatal intensive care unit. It also demonstrated the ability to measure white light exposure for seasonal affective disorder…. Continue reading.

Researchers at Northwestern University and Washington University School of Medicine have developed the first example of a bioresorbable electronic medicine: an implantable, biodegradable wireless device that speeds nerve regeneration and improves the healing of a damaged nerve.

The collaborators — materials scientists and engineers at Northwestern and neurosurgeons at Washington University — developed a device that delivers regular pulses of electricity to damaged peripheral nerves in rats after a surgical repair process, accelerating the regrowth of nerves in their legs and enhancing the ultimate recovery of muscle strength and control. The size of a dime and the thickness of a sheet of paper, the wireless device operates for about two weeks before naturally absorbing into the body.

The scientists envision that such transient engineered technologies one day could complement or replace pharmaceutical treatments for a variety of medical conditions in humans. This type of technology, which the researchers refer to as a “bioresorbable electronic medicine,” provides therapy and treatment over a clinically relevant period of time and directly at the site where it’s needed, thereby reducing side effects or risks associated with conventional, permanent implants… Continue reading.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the induction of John A. Rogers, Ph.D., Simpson/Querrey Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, to its College of Fellows. Dr. Rogers was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for pioneering work on flexible and transient electronics and optoelectronics, and their applications in biomedicine.