Korea Institute of Industrial Technology

Researchers at the Wyss Center have an ongoing project to develop AI algorithms that use brain signals to control a lightweight exosuit. The Synapsuit project aims to develop high-performance algorithms that decode complex brain signals. In turn, these signals control a lightweight, soft, wearable exosuit that supports arm and hand movement in real-time. The Wyss team collaborates with local and international partners on this project aimed at accelerating neuro-rehabilitation. “Neuroscience is rapidly merging with AI, allowing us to discover important patterns hidden inside seemingly chaotic brain signals,” said Dr. Kyuhwa Lee, principal investigator, Wyss Center. “Using cutting-edge machine learning approaches, we aim to translate movement intentions into action for people living with movement disorders following spinal cord injury and stroke.” Wyss plans to continue partnering to explore “new standards of neuro-AI technologies.” The group aims to assist people living with severe upper-limb motor disabilities to produce arm and hand movements. To achieve this, the team plans to gather large amounts of clinical data using flexible, high-density ECoG electrodes and develop new AI algorithms to decode the movement intentions of people experiencing motor disability. More about the Wyss Center exosuit project One partner in the exosuit project is Nuerosoft Bioelectronics, a brain-computer interface (BCI) technology maker. “At Neurosoft Bioelectronics, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of BCI technology,” said CEO Dr. Nicolas Vachicouras. “Our cutting-edge, soft implantable electrodes offer a novel way to record signals from previously unexplored brain regions. By integrating these electrodes into the Synapsuit project, we aim to significantly improve the decoding of movement intentions, thereby taking a critical step towards restoring functional mobility to those who need it most.” Combining the algorithms with a brain-controlled exosuit could accelerate neuro-rehab methods, Wyss says, by supporting the movement of those suffering from stroke and spinal cord injury. The team records brain signals using soft, foldable and flexible electrodes that conform to any neural tissues. They then feed the signals into the neuro-AI decoder that sends a command to the fully flexible, soft exosuit. The exosuit sends electrical current through transcutaneous neurostimulation, controlling the muscle that directly moves the arm and the hand. Combined with a special material called electrostatic clutch (ES-clutch), the exosuit allows the arm and hand to hold posture on demand without causing fatigue. “We want to develop a highly usable, practical exosuit that can be used in daily life by people living with motor disability,” said Dr. Yun-Jae Won, principal investigator, Korea Electronics Technology Institute.

Engineers have developed a new kind of membrane that separates chemicals within wastewater so effectively that they can be reused, presenting a new opportunity for industries to improve sustainability, while extracting valuable by-products and chemicals from wastewater. Engineers have developed a new kind of membrane that separates chemicals within wastewater so effectively that they can be reused, presenting a new opportunity for industries to improve sustainability, while extracting valuable by-products and chemicals from wastewater. Created for use in wastewater treatment, the thin-film composite nanoporous membrane known as a TFC NPM, exhibits an 'unprecedented' capability to separate salts and other chemical components from water, and could lead to more sustainable treatment and management of water in a range of industries. A research paper published today in Nature Water details the membrane's performance and explains how its unique properties, aspects of which are inspired by mussels, could pave the way for more sustainable management of water within industries such as pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, textiles and food processing. The paper is authored by academics from the UK's University of Bath alongside colleagues based in China, South Korea, Singapore, Australia and Belgium. They say the membrane could replace current equivalents used in electrodialysis, a process used to treat water by transporting ions through membranes from one solution to another under an electrical current. Existing membranes are expensive and can achieve separation efficiencies of 90-95%. The authors of the new work say the new TFC NPM can improve on this significantly, with efficiencies of more than 99%, while using less energy at a lower cost. Dr Ming Xie, lecturer in Chemical Engineering at the University of Bath and one of the paper's authors, says the membrane could lead to a shift in thinking around wastewater treatment. He says: "Traditionally, many industries have regarded the wastewater they create as a trade waste that is a necessary cost of business. Technologies such as the membrane we have created can help us take steps toward lowering carbon emissions by reducing the energy requirement of wastewater treatment, while finding ways to efficiently separate the components in it such as chemicals, salts, energy, biomass and nutrients, before reusing them as high-value by-products." The researchers took inspiration from mussels when designing the coating on the membrane surface, which is made up of the polymer polyethyleneimine (PEI) and polydopamine (PDA), a compound which mussels excrete and use to stick to rocks or wood in wet conditions. The coating's stickiness makes the membrane highly selective, allowing water to pass through but blocking other compounds and organic materials. This multi-stage process results in improved filtration of the water, and a highly efficient, low-energy way to fractionate (or separate) chemicals individually. Electrodialysis is a technology that has shown its adaptability to several applications, in this case, management of highly saline waste streams. In the electrodialysis process, electrical potential is used to drive the positive and negative ions of dissolved salts through separate semipermeable synthetic membrane. During tests, the researchers used four antibiotics -- ceftriaxone sodium, cefotaxime sodium, carbenicillin disodium and ampicillin sodium -- to prove the PDA/PEI-coated membrane's electro-driven filtration performance. The membrane showed unprecedentedly high recovery efficiency in removing the antibiotics from saltwater solutions (water and NaCl sodium chloride) -- with more than 99.3% desalination efficiency and more than 99.1% recovery of the antibiotics. If incorporated in industrial wastewater treatment, the membrane has the capability to carry out highly effective electrodialytic fractionation (separation) of various organic/NaCl mixed solutions, more effectively than standard existing processes. Co-author, Dr Dong Han Seo from Department of Energy Engineering, Korea Institute of Energy Technology, said "This work demonstrates the state of the art electrodialysis to address the grand challenge in the pharmaceutical industry to bio based wastewater treatment, to enable effective recovery of the high value chemicals while obtaining reusable water in the other end using a low energy consumption." Dr Jiuyang Lin from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, also a co-author, said: "This simple yet effective coating provides long term stability and guarantees low energy consumption regardless of the wastewater conditions. This is a breakthrough finding electrodialysis for wastewater treatment involving clever design of membrane, simulation and analysis."

National Project converging semiconductor and biotechnology SEOUL, South Korea, June 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DxVx announced today that it won the national project, 'Korea-led K-Sensor Technology Development for Market Leadership' supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and managed by the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology. The main task is 'Development of optical sensor system for early diagnosis of adult diseases based on biomarkers in urine', which is to discover biomarkers (biochemical substances such as volatile organic compounds and glucose) in urine for full-time monitoring and early diagnosis of various adult diseases such as diabetes and prostate cancer. It also aims to develop an in vitro POCT (point-of-care device) capable of measuring various biomarkers by applying MEMS (microelectromechanical system) technology, optical technology, semiconductor technology for signal processing, and artificial intelligence analysis technology. In this project, which will be carried out over three years with a total budget of about $3.6 million($2.8 million in government support), Dx&Vx will lead the development as a lead company. It will be developed in collaboration with the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI), the Department of Urology at Hanyang University College of Medicine, and the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Korea University. COREE Group will be responsible for final commercializing. With winning of this project, Dx&Vx expects to further accelerate its total biohealthcare solution business. In particular, after product development, Dx&Vx plans to launch the product in China through its Chinese subsidiary company and global sales through COREE Group's overseas network, which is expected to increase its sales and grow the in vitro diagnostic business. "Starting with the diagnostic development business that combines biotechnology and semiconductors, we will expand the development of additional modules using AI and IoT technologies, data analysis algorithms, and technologies for early diagnosis," said an official from Dx&Vx. "We will solve the unmet need for early diagnosis of various adult diseases and bio healthcare problems due to the global aging trend, and provide total healthcare solutions using micro-system semiconductors for diagnosis and therapeutic management." The products to be developed in the future are expected to be utilized for various adult diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, prostate cancer, and bladder cancer, and will be presented in the form of a non-invasive 'POCT equipment and cartridges, a sensor system for early diagnosis of adult diseases'. SOURCE Dx&Vx