Abstract:
The gastrointestinal tract is a unique point of intersection of digestive, metabolic, nervous, and immune system. Interfacing with the GI tract is quite challenging, given the harsh, motile, and variable environments of the stomach and intestine. This talk will present a variety of engineering approaches for the design and manufacturing of ingestible devices that can successfully interface with GI tissue. We illustrate a variety of clinical applications for such devices, including 3-dimensional mapping of GI anatomy, assessment of GI motility, and modulation of neural and hormonal circuitry. Such ingestible electronic and electroceutical platforms could be a novel approach towards interrogating physiology, diagnosing disease, and delivering therapy non-invasively through the GI tract.

Bio:
Prof. Khalil Ramadi is an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and Director of the Laboratory for Advanced Neuroengineering and Translational Medicine (LANTRN) at New York University (NYU) Abu Dhabi. His work focuses on developing new tools and technologies for treatment a variety of neurologic, endocrine, and immune disorders. Prof. Ramadi has been named a TED junior fellow, CIFAR Global Scholar, and MIT Technology Review Innovator Under 35 (MENA), and received multiple honors including the NIH F32 Ruth Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellowship, BMES Career Development Award, and a NASA Aeronautics Scholarship. He holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics from MIT, a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering from the Pennsylvania State University. He is also a board member and former co-Director of MIT Hacking Medicine, a group dedicated to enabling multi-disciplinary health entrepreneurship worldwide.