□ Professor Kyung-in Jang from the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering at DGIST (President Kun-woo Lee) has been selected to lead a research project under the “2024 STEAM Research Program (Global Convergence Research Support).” Professor Jang will conduct research on developing brain engineering technology for the effective treatment of brain diseases. Over the next five years, this project will receive robust support totaling 5.4 billion KRW, and it is expected to create excellent academic results.
□ The STEAM Research Program by the National Research Foundation of Korea is a national R&D initiative for proposing solutions for complex issues that cannot be addressed by existing science and technology. It supports interdisciplinary convergence research that Korea needs to undertake to meet future challenges.
□ Professor Jang will conduct research on “Treatment of Intractable Brain Diseases Using Lifelong Implantable Nanomesh Brain–Machine Interface-based Neural Prosthetics” through the STEAM Research Program. The research aims to develop and secure fundamental technology for fully implantable, flexible nanomesh-based neural prosthetics, which can be applied to the long-term diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases that are currently difficult to manage.
□ Currently, the number of people with dementia is rapidly increasing worldwide. It is estimated to increase from 46.8 million in 2015 to 74.7 million by 2030 and to 131.5 million by 2050, more than tripling over 35 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that the global cost of dementia care will rise continuously from 966 trillion KRW in 2015 to 2,282 trillion KRW by 2030. This issue places a significant burden on family carers of dementia patients. The neural prosthetics developed through this project will be implantable for long periods, allowing for more convenient diagnosis and treatment in patients’ daily lives. This will help reduce the burden on carers and effectively manage dementia.
□ Professor Jang at DGIST stated, “Although brain diseases are serious conditions that threaten normal life, brain engineering technology for early diagnosis and effective treatment has not yet been developed. Through this project, we will spare no effort to develop “customized neural prosthetics for brain diseases” by combining “nanomesh electrodes,” which enable high-resolution diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases, with a “brain–machine interface” that can be implanted in the skull and used for a lifetime based on a wireless system. We are committed to delivering innovative outcomes in the field of brain disease diagnosis and treatment.
□ To facilitate the smooth execution of the STEAM Research Program, Professor Jang’s team plans to establish a global network and contribute to securing fundamental technology through personnel exchanges and joint research with leading global research institutions such as Harvard University and MIT, as well as domestic institutions including Yonsei University, Gangnam Severance Hospital, and the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology.
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