MEMS Journal -- The Largest MEMS Publication in the World

Firefly BioWorks receives $2 million NIH grant for cancer diagnostics

Firefly BioWorks, a manufacturer of cancer diagnostic assays based on microfluidics, announced this week that it was awarded a $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute for microRNA profiling.  MicroRNAs are an emerging class of biomarkers that are proving to be important indicators for early diagnosis of cancer and other diseases.  The company will use the award to expand production capacity and validate its microRNA assay against the current state of the art.  The goal of the Phase II SBIR grant studies is to develop a product providing a combination of performance, throughput and cost not available from existing solutions.

Micro cell membranes for faster and cheaper drug development

They may look and act like natural human cell membranes but the synthetic cell membranes invented by A*STAR's IMRE have more advantages.  IMRE's patented synthetic cell membranes can be made-to-order, are easier to maintain in a laboratory environment and do not require the lengthy preparation that comes with working on live cell membranes.  The synthetic cell membranes mimic the natural functions of cell membranes, such as interacting with drug molecules and antibodies, which is crucial in the drug discovery process.  The innovation also provides a more stable membrane model for a better understanding of the mechanisms of diseases that affect human cells.

Molecular diagnostics and microfluidics: market overview and opportunities

Dr. Greg Galvin is a successful veteran of the MEMS industry.  His first company was sold in 2000 to Calient Networks, an optical MEMS switching company in San Jose.  The transaction at the time was valued at ~$300 million in cash and stock.  Dr. Galvin's second company, Kionix, focuses on the design and fabrication of MEMS inertial sensing devices and was acquired in 2009 by ROHM Co., Ltd. for $233.5 million.  Now, Dr. Galvin has launched his third company, Rheonix, that concentrates on molecular diagnostics applications enabled by microfluidic technologies.  In this extensive interview, Dr. Galvin discusses opportunities in the molecular diagnostics market, current cost trends and technology developments, and shares the vision for his new company.

Valencell raises $5.5 million for health and fitness monitoring applications

Valencell, a startup company based in North Carolina that is focused on mobile health and fitness technologies, announced this week that that it has received $5.5 million in venture capital funding.  The round was led by Best Buy Capital, the investment group of Best Buy, with participation from previous investors TDF and True Ventures.  Valencell is the creator of powered earbuds which give audio headsets the ability to monitor the health and fitness of the user.  The company's sensor technology tracks real-time physiological metrics including heart rate, calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled, speed and more, while the consumer listens to music, talks over the phone, or goes about daily life activities.  Data is streamed to smartphones or music players through wired or wireless links, enabling live body metrics, training, and coaching via fitness applications on mobile devices and online.

Overview of MEMS technologies for retina applications

by John Williamson
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

Retinal disease, or degeneration of the retinal cells, is exemplified by genetically caused retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (MD).  These are leading causes of blindness affecting an estimated 1-3 million and 25-30 million people worldwide, respectively.  As MD progresses, the tissue of the macula is destroyed leading to a complete loss of vision in the center.  In the case of RP, early symptoms include night blindness, loss of contrast and steadily diminishing peripheral vision.  Both can be traced to degenerating light-sensitive rods and cones in the retina.

MEMS and body area networks

A European consortium lead by Swiss based CSEM successfully launched the European Commission funded WiserBAN project, with the objective of developing innovative ultra-miniature RF microsystems for wireless body area networks (BAN) targeting primarily wearable and implanted devices for healthcare, biomedical, wellness and lifestyle applications.

The research plan addresses the extreme miniaturization of BAN devices, and will focus on the areas of ultra low-power MEMS based radio system on chip (SoC), RF and low-frequency MEMS and miniature components, miniature reconfigurable antennas, miniaturized and cost-effective system in package (SiP), sensor signal processing and flexible communication protocols.

Agilent acquires two microfluidic technology companies

The company announced this week that it has acquired BIOCIUS Life Sciences, developer of  a high-throughput mass spectrometry drug-screening platform for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical markets, as well as Lab901, an electrophoresis equipment and consumables company.  Both companies' technologies utilize microfluidic components.  Financial details for both acquisitions were not disclosed.

Health and medical market strategies for MEMS companies

by Paul Pyzowski
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

As an executive and entrepreneur who transitioned from the semiconductor industry to life sciences, I am often asked about "medical MEMS" by other executives, engineers, and investors seeking new markets for an existing MEMS or microfabrication technology.  These questions include how to identify a need, how to think about partnering and commercialization, and even whether to get into medical markets at all.

First, in spite of uncertainties due to healthcare reform efforts in the US, I am optimistic about the increasing use of MEMS in health and medicine.  The life sciences and health markets in mature Western economies are both enormous, comprising 17% of the US economy, as well as incredibly diverse including cancer drugs, hospital equipment, and home healthcare technology.

Samplify Systems developing ultrasound solutions, recruits MEMS expert

Samplify Systems, a provider of  semiconductor technology and sub-systems for the ultrasound equipment market, announced this week that Dr. Chris Daft has joined the company as Senior Scientist, where he will apply his MEMS expertise to develop the company's ultrasound beamforming technology and products.  "Dr. Daft brings a wealth of experience in beamforming, silicon integration and MEMS technology in the ultrasound industry," said Richard Tobias, VP of Engineering at Samplify.  "His experience will prove valuable not just in our next generation of solutions, but in accelerating the time to market for our current OEM customers."

ST, Bluechiip to partner on manufacturing of MEMS RFID tags

STMicroelectronics, a leading supplier of MEMS devices for consumer and portable applications, and Bluechiip, an early-stage company that has developed a MEMS based asset tracking solution, announced this week that the two companies will cooperate in further commercialization of Bluechiip's MEMS based tracking tags, aimed at a range of different markets, but initially in healthcare, such as biobanks.  Through this partnership, ST will be responsonsible for manufacturing of Bluechiip's MEMS based tracking tags into high-volume production.