Biosensor Chip from Infineon Technologies Promises New Techniques for Neuroscience and Drug Development.Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers NOTE TO MEDIA: Multimedia assets available Photos available at URLs: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.021103/bb2 http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.021103/bb2a MUNICH, Germany and SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2003 Researchers at Infineon Technologies have succeeded, in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute, in directly connecting a newly developed biosensor A device that detects and analyzes body movement, temperature or fluids and turns it into an electronic signal. See lab on a chip and data glove. Biosensor chip with living nerve cells and reading electrical signals produced by the cells. This breakthrough technology, which Infineon calls a "Neuro-Chip," will allow scientific researchers to gain new insights into the biologic function of neurons, nerve tissue nerve tissue n. A highly differentiated tissue composed of nerve cells, nerve fibers, dendrites, and neuroglia. , and organic neural networks. In the field of drug development, the Neuro-Chip ultimately will enable tests of the effects of new pharmaceutical compounds on living neurons, contributing to greater efficiency and productivity in research. Infineon will describe the Neuro-Chip development in a paper presented today at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC ISSCC International Solid State Circuits Conference ISSCC International Student Services Center Corporation Limited ) 2003, a highly respected global forum for new developments in semiconductors. The research findings include the first report on measurements of electrical signals from live neurons. Neurons are the specialized cells that make up the nervous systems of all living things. Nerve tissues, comprised of many associated nerve cells, are the principal component of the brain and spinal cord spinal cord, the part of the nervous system occupying the hollow interior (vertebral canal) of the series of vertebrae that form the spinal column, technically known as the vertebral column. . Nerve cells communicate with each other through electrical pulses, so the ability to read these signals and record them in a computer system holds the promise of new insights into neurological processes. "Infineon is able to draw on 50 years of knowledge in chip making to develop biochips that bring the advantages of silicon technology to biochemistry and new drug research," said Dr. Roland Thewes, the Senior Director responsible for biosensor chip activities within the Corporate Research Center at Infineon Technologies. "With the Neuro-Chip, we are laying the groundwork for advances in scientific understanding." Infineon has collaborated since mid-2000 with researchers at the Max Planck Institute (MPI MPI - Message Passing Interface ) for Biochemistry in Martinsried, near Munich, on development of the Neuro-Chip and associated test system. Professor Dr. Peter Fromherz, Director of the MPI, comments: "That our long-lasting basic research on neuron-semiconductor interfaces now sees a high-tech chip, is like a dream coming true. Infineon's development of cutting edge microelectronics may be a pre-condition for unheard of applications in the field of biomedicine biomedicine /bio·med·i·cine/ (bi?o-med´i-sin) clinical medicine based on the principles of the natural sciences (biology, biochemistry, etc.).biomed´ical bi·o·med·i·cine n. 1. , biotechnology and brain research." Infineon's successful development of a complete integrated circuit enabling observation of the extremely low cell signals is a world technology breakthrough. The Infineon Neuro-Chip integrates 128 x 128 sensors in an array pattern covering just one square millimeter, creating a sensor density that is 300 times greater than today's common methods for studying neurons. A sophisticated electronic circuit is integrated below each sensor, which amplifies and processes the extremely weak signals of neurons. The total area of Infineon's Neuro-Chip measures five millimeter by six millimeter, including the circuitry required to amplify and process the neuron signals and transmit the data off-chip. It is based on a standard Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor See CMOS. (integrated circuit) Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor - (CMOS) A semiconductor fabrication technology using a combination of n- and p-doped semiconductor material to achieve low power dissipation. (CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. ) technology extended with additional process steps to realize the capacitive sensors array. About Infineon Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors, for applications in the wired communications markets, secure mobile solutions as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In fiscal year 2002 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 5.21 billion with about 30,400 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange Frankfurt Stock Exchange The largest of Germany's eight securities exchanges, operated by Deutsche Borse AS. and on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. (ticker symbol Ticker Symbol An arrangement of characters (usually letters) representing a particular security listed on an exchange or otherwise traded publicly. When a company issues securities to the public marketplace, it selects an available ticker symbol for its securities which investors : IFX IFX - ["Type Reconstruction with First-Class Polymorphic Values", J. O'Toole et al, SIGPLAN Notices 24(7):207-217 (Jul 1989)]. ). Further information is available at http://www.infineon.com. This news release and pictures are available at http://www.infineon.com/news NOTE: Truncated release -- full text can be found at www.infineon.com/news For the Trade Press: INFCPR200302.041e Note: Photos available at URLs: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.021103/bb2 http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.021103/bb2a |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion