Biomedical Engineering Technologies

Draper Laboratory’s biomedical engineering capabilities are being applied to the development of first-of-a-kind biomedical devices and technologies for applications in health care diagnostics, therapeutics, and national defense.


These efforts leverage the Laboratory’s technical expertise in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), microelectronics, advanced packaging, mechanical design and analysis, computation, and scientific expertise in chemistry and biology. In addition, Draper has established vigorous collaborations with institutions in the fields of health care and biomedical engineering.

The largest collaboration in which Draper currently is involved is the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT), of which we are a founding member with Partners HealthCare and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Other important partnerships include collaborations with Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary; with academic groups at MIT, Harvard University, and Tufts University; and with commercial companies in the sensing and pharmaceuticals businesses.

Biomedical applications such as point-of-care diagnostic sensors and drug delivery devices require a wide range of technical expertise and engineering disciplines, and the Laboratory has strong capabilities in many of these domains. Interdisciplinary groups of mechanical engineers, MEMS fabrication experts, chemists, and systems engineers are designing high-precision miniature components and devices for implantable sensors and drug delivery systems. For implantable use, small size and low power are crucial; microelectronics design engineers are developing low-power electronics which minimize volume and enable insertion of devices into locations such as the eye and ear for a variety of therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Novel microfluidic devices, which function as small pumps and valves, are being designed and fabricated in the MEMS laboratory; these components are approximately 20 times smaller than commercially available hardware with similar functionality and performance. Packaging of small implantable and diagnostic devices is accomplished using advanced sealing and packaging techniques and biocompatible materials and processes.

Many biomedical engineering projects are conducted at the nexus of biology, microfabrication technology, and computation. Such multidisciplinary efforts include the fabrication of replacement tissues and organs for therapeutic applications such as transplantation, the advancement of tools for drug discovery, and the construction of testbeds for the development of vaccines against infectious diseases and biological warfare agents.

The Laboratory leverages strengths in numerous disciplines such as computational fluid dynamics and mechanical design, microfabrication and nanofabrication technologies, and the materials science of biologically compatible materials for integration with living cells. Computational capabilities range from the development and application of fluid dynamic models for complex three-dimensional biological systems to the use of adaptive subspace matching and pattern recognition models.

Draper’s capabilities in MEMS fabrication have been augmented by the development of nanofabrication technology based upon large-area nanoscale lithography tools and processes. These capabilities, with the growing expertise in materials science and biomaterials for cell-based systems, are producing groundbreaking results in therapeutic devices and drug discovery tools based on biological microsystems.

Facilities

• BioSafety Level 2 biology laboratory

Applications

• Tissue engineering for vital organ assist and replacement devices
• Biosensors for clinical and point-of-care diagnostics
• Biosensors for biological warfare agent detection
• Tools for drug discovery
• Implantable devices and drug delivery devices

Technologies / Capabilities

• 3-D polymer nano channels
• Dynamic flow simulation
• Affinity sensors
• Spectroscopic sensors
• Fluorescence assays
• Microfluidic components