Haiwen Luan

Haiwen Luan is dedicated to the development of bio-integrated multifunctional microsystems at the intersection of living and artificial systems. His research advances mechanics-informed strategies to seamlessly integrate intelligent electronics and microfluidics into biological systems to address challenges in health and medicine.

In this field, Haiwen has developed a systematic set of technologies for designing and fabricating high-performance bio-integrated microsystems, including stretchable, skin-like devices and smart and programmable materials that can sense and adapt according to human movement and interaction​.

Among these technologies, the introduction of soft 3D bio-integrated, multifunctional electronic microsystems is one of Haiwen’s most innovative research achievements. This technology can effectively control complex 3D geometries and integrate high-performance electronic components.

With this technology, Haiwen pioneered the development of a soft 3D bio-integrated neural interface tailored for cortical spheroids (‘mini-brains’). The 3D neural interface can gently enclose a cortical spheroid with shape-matched geometry optimized by his theoretical modeling. It achieved, for the first time, the high-fidelity spatiotemporal recording of the electrophysiological signals across the entire spherical surface of a mini-brain. This 3D neural interface can provide the necessary platform for studying, understanding and treating neurological diseases and trauma, thus bringing better solutions for brain repair.

Biological vasculature adopts complex, hierarchical, branching 3D constructs to transport essential water and biochemical species to and from volumes of living tissue. Therefore, Haiwen also developed a method for assembling complex 3D microfluidic networks, which has many advantages such as the simultaneous realization of high-precision dimensions, complex and arbitrary geometric shapes, and large-area microchannel networks. Based on this, he realized a new type of intelligent 3D bio-integrated interface that combines sensing and regulation with nutrient delivery and this microsystem technology is expected to achieve important applications in biochemical analysis, drug delivery, artificial organs and other fields.