Jung and Abbas are also both associate professors in the Harrington Department of Bioengineering within ASU's Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering. Jung is also affiliate faculty in electrical engineering at ASU and Abbas is director of Clinical Rehabilitation Engineering at Banner Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. The funding from the received grants will be distributed over multiple years.

Grant descriptions:

Active Micro Electromechanical System Neural Clamps

Developing the new generation of user-controlled intelligent-prosthetic systems that replace missing limbs in amputees will require the design of novel sensors to communicate between the nervous system and the artificial arm or leg. This grant, funded by the National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at NIH is for development of micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) neural clamps. These tiny devices will utilize semiconductor microfabrication technology to integrate mechanical elements, sensors, and electronics to record neural signals from the nerve roots of the spinal cord.

"The project requires expertise on several fronts, but what is most novel is the development of clamps small enough to latch onto the spinal roots," said Jung. Spinal roots can be only millimeters wide"

In addition to Jung, the team includes two associate professors in ASU's Fulton School, Stephen Phillips in electrical engineering and James Sweeney, Harrington Department Bioengineering.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging/Spectroscopy System
ASU was one of 11 universities selected by NIH's National Center for Research Resources to purchase this high-end imaging instrumentation. The MRI system will be the only one of its kind in the Valley and, will be available to other biomedical research institutions in Arizona.

Tracking the progress of disease is critical in the assessmen
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Contact: Gretchen Dobosz
gretchen.dobosz@asu.edu
480-727-0788
Arizona State University
27-Sep-2005