Editorial:
Special Issue on Bio-MEMS
Shoichiro Fujisawa*1, Katsuya Sato*2, Kazuyuki Minami*3, Kazuaki Nagayama*4, Ryo Sudo*5, Hiromi Miyoshi*6, Yuta Nakashima*7, Kennedy Omondi Okeyo*8, and Tasuku Nakahara*9
*1Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Tokushima Bunri University
1314-1 Shido, Sanuki, Kagawa 769-2193, Japan
*2Associate Professor, Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Sciences, Tokushima University
2-1 Minamijosanjima, Tokushima 770-8506, Japan
*3Professor, Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University
2-16-1 Tokiwadai, Ube, Yamaguchi 755-8611, Japan
*4Professor, Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Ibaraki University
4-12-1 Nakanarusawa-cho, Hitachi, Ibaraki 316-8511, Japan
*5Professor, Department of System Design Engineering, Keio University
3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan
*6Associate Professor, Graduate School of Systems Design, Tokyo Metropolitan University
1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan
*7Associate Professor, Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology, Kumamoto University
2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan
*8Visiting Scholar, Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University
610 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA
*9Associate Professor, Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University
2-16-1 Tokiwadai, Ube, Yamaguchi 755-8611, Japan
A Micro Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) is a micro-sized mechatronic device based on semiconductor integrated-circuit manufacturing technology. MEMS technology is inherently a very powerful tool for researchers to manipulate and measure the microscopic biological components of biological tissues since their basic constituent units, cells and intracellular microstructures, are also micron or even submicron in size.
MEMS technology applied to medicine and life sciences is called Bio-MEMS. Many Bio-MEMS devices and technologies have been developed in recent years, including microfluidic devices for cell culture, manipulation, and measurement, as well as lab-on-a-chip devices for chemical reactions and analyses on MEMS devices.
This special issue consists of 13 papers: 1 review article, 1 letter, and 11 research papers. These papers include studies on mechanical stress on cells using MEMS devices, the control of cell functions through microfabrication techniques, cell measurement and in vivo microenvironment simulation using microfluidic devices, and basic research on wearable devices and self-assembling microstructures using MEMS technologies. The editorial committee members are confident that this special issue will make a significant contribution to the further development of Bio-MEMS.
We sincerely appreciate the excellent contributions of the authors and the time and effort of the reviewers. We would also like to thank the editorial board of the Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics for their support of this special issue.
This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.