McKelvey School of Engineering

Graduate student Lu Xu wears a device designed by engineers, at Washington University in St. Louis, that targets ultrasound waves to precise spots in the brain. Such targeting is the first step in a sonobiopsy, a noninvasive technique invented by Washington University researchers that uses ultrasound and microbubbles to release biomolecules from brain tumors. The biomolecules then can be collected via a blood draw, analyzed and used to inform treatment decisions. Xu is part of a research team that demonstrated that sonobiopsy is safe and feasible for use in people.
Ultrasound-based brain biopsy is feasible, noninvasive and safe in people
Junyi Zhao demonstrates using a simple ballpoint pen to write custom LEDs on paper (left). The same pens can be used to draw multicolored designs on aluminum foil (top right) and to create light up sketches (bottom right). (Images courtesy of Wang lab)
Handwritten electronics and devices from a ballpoint pen?
Benjamin Sumlin, PhD, a senior scientist at Washington University in St. Louis, blows into a device designed by researchers at the university. The device — a breath test that uses a biosensor — could become a tool for use in doctors’ offices to quickly diagnose people infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.
FINALLY! A breath test that rapidly detects the COVID-19 virus in less than a minute
This figure depicts the particle trajectory inside the cyclone sampler during air sampling. The Washington University team used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to gain insight into the size-dependent collection efficiency of aerosols inside the wet cyclone. (Image: Joseph Puthussery)
A real-time air monitor that can detect Covid variants, flu, RSV in a room in about 5 minutes
A genetically engineered kill switch that integrates into any genetically engineered microbe
Making carbon-neutral fuel using microbes, carbon dioxide, solar panel-generated electricity and light
Cheaper, faster, stretchy, bendy, flexible LEDs can be fabricated with an inkjet printer
Combining a fuel cell and battery into one device
A potential drug-free treatment for chronic wounds using an oxygen-delivering hydrogel
Synthetic muscle fiber built by microbes opens up extraordinary possibilities
A demonstration that we can engineer biology to produce materials that beat the best materials in nature
A new quantum logic gate is orders of magnitude more efficient
Activating deep brain neurons to control behavior in mice by combining ultrasound and genetics
Valuable resources can be recovered from wastewater using dual-function electrodes that also filter water
A new microneedle patch has huge medical implications . . .