2025 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit

Symposium SB08-Toward Chronically Implantable and Wearable Soft Devices

Next-generation implantable and wearable soft devices are trending towards miniaturized, multifunctional, and thin-and-lightweight materials, allowing seamless integration between human and machines with chronically reliable functionalities. Such materials and their applications should perform their designed functionalities adequately under the required environment; systematic studies under human body conditions in the various aspects need more attention: optimizing electronics manufacturing and encapsulation technique, device functionality, reliability assessment, and building new platforms for characterization, processing, and evaluation. To this end, this symposium will focus on the reliability aspects of the latest implantable and wearable soft devices.
First, we will introduce the most recent advances in soft devices, especially focused on miniaturized, flexible and stretchable electronics, sensors, and actuators for a broad range of applications, including implants, wearables and soft robots. Then, we will focus on materials used in packaging and encapsulation of these applications. In addition to hermetic encapsulations, smart encapsulations, i.e., breathable, selective, bioresorbable encapsulations that control the lifetime and diffusion pathways, are welcomed. Discussion of various quality control methods used in the functional longevity, performance, and failure mode characterizations will also be welcomed. Finally, translational research and efforts made towards their viability in the market will be discussed.
This symposium aims to gather researchers interested in viable next-generation implantable and wearable applications, bridging the gap between lab-based prototypes and ones available off the shelf. Different benefits and risks will be discussed in connection with specific applications by gathering researchers from multiple disciplines.

Topics will include:

Recent advances toward viable soft, flexible or implantable electronic devices
Miniaturization and scalable manufacturing processes
Electronics packaging, integration of rigid components and brittle layers on soft frames
Thin films interfaces, adhesion, mechanical stabilities
Thin, soft, stretchable diffusion barriers, functional diffusion barriers
New tools for characterization and new platforms for lifetime evaluation
Environmental and mechanical fatigue and dynamic loading
Reliability assessment under multimodal aging, harsh environment

Invited Speakers:

Maria Asplund (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden)
Zhenan Bao (Stanford University, USA)
Canan Dagdeviren (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
Michael Dickey (North Carolina State University, USA)
Wei Gao (California Institute of Technology, USA)
Vasiliki Giagka (Delft University of Technology, Netherlands)
Hadi Heidari (University of Glasgow, United Kingdom)
Yongtaek Hong (Seoul National University, Republic of Korea)
Sukwon Hwang (Korea University, Republic of Korea)
Jack Judy (University of Florida, USA)
Martin Kaltenbrunner (Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Austria)
Robert Katzschmann (ETH Zürich, Switzerland)
Tae-il Kim (Sungkyunkwan University, Republic of Korea)
Taek Soo Kim (Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, Republic of Korea)
Stephanie Lacour (École Polytechnique FédéraleSwiss de Lausanne, Switzerland)
Jia Liu (Harvard University, USA)
George Malliaras (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom)
Ivan Minev (Technische Universitàt Dresden, Germany)
Thanh Nguyen (University of Connecticut, USA)
Abdon Pena-Francesch (University of Michigan, USA)
John Rogers (Northwestern University, USA)
Tsuyoshi Sekitani (Osaka University, Japan)
Florian Solzbacher (The University of Utah, USA)
Takao Someya (The University of Tokyo, Japan)
Sheng Xu (University of California, San Diego, USA)
Xinge Yu (City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)