ARPA-H funds effort to develop implantable bioelectronic devices

A Carnegie Mellon University-led team has secured up to $42m from ARPA-H to develop devices that deliver patient-specific therapy and monitor disease status for conditions like hypo-and hyperthyroidism in real time.

The award is part of the ARPA-H REACT program, which supports the development of implantable bioelectronic devices to improve patient management of chronic diseases.

Burak Ozdoganlar, professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), will head the Biointegrated Implantable Systems for Cell-based Sensing and Therapy (BIO-INSYNC) project as the primary investigator.

The multidisciplinary project team includes researchers from the University of Pittsburgh/UPMC, University of Florida, and University of California-Santa Cruz. Two companies, Ginkgo Bioworks and Velentium, are also in the consortium.

During the project, the team will develop and test two multi-part, pacemaker-sized system platforms that will be implanted in a patient's chest cavity through an outpatient procedure and offer real-time, adjustable, low-cost therapy and disease monitoring for up to 12 months.