In this blog series, we take a look back at some of the highlights from last year's Arm Research Summit. Interested in attending this year? Find out more or submit your own work here.
The Arm Research Summit provides a forum for researchers from all disciplines to share their work and developments with a diverse audience of academics, researchers and industry experts. In last year's Biotechnology session, Dr. Chris Proctor from Cambridge University joined us to present his work on Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Biological Interfacing.
Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) make effective use of ion injection from an electrolyte to modulate the bulk conductivity of an organic semiconductor channel. The coupling between ionic and electronic charges within the entire volume of the channel endows OECTs with high transconductance compared with that of other transistor technologies. The synthetic tunability, facile integration with flexible substrates and biocompatibility of organic materials make OECTs particularly suitable for applications in biological interfacing. This talk focuses on OECTs embedded on ultrathin organic films and designed to record electrophysiological signals. These devices, tested on cutaneous (electroencephalography, electrocardiography, electromyography) as well as implantable configurations (animal models, clinic) display superior signal-to-noise ratio compared to electrodes due to local signal amplification. The talk ends with a critical look at the future of OECT research and development.
Chris received a B.Sc. in Interdisciplinary Physics from the University of Michigan in 2008. Following two years as a general scientist at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, he earned a Ph.D. in Materials from the University of California, Santa Barbara where he investigated loss mechanisms in organic photovoltaics (2015).
Subsequently, Chris was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from Whitaker International to develop implantable bioelectronic devices for treating neurological disorders at the Ecole des Mines de St Etienne. He is now continuing this work as a Research Associate and Borysiewicz Biomedical Sciences Fellow at the University of Cambridge.
Chris's research is focused on engineering devices and developing materials to enable a seamless connection between electronics and living tissue in order to address intractable disorders.
Find Out More
The Arm Research Summit is coming to the USA for the first time this year, taking place in Austin, Texas between 15-18 September 2019. It is a unique research-focused event, which brings together researchers, academics and industry experts from around the world with a program of talks, workshops, demos and plenty of networking opportunities to meet and discuss your own research ideas.
This year's Summit will focus on the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration in solving the ever more complex challenges facing our world today.
Our Call for Submissions is open until May 13, and you can also register your interest to be the first to know when early-bird tickets go on sale - don't miss out!
Submit Your Work Register Your Interest