History

With the aging global population, increasing numbers of people are presenting with nervous system diseases, many of which remain difficult to treat. Fortunately, with substantial technological developments in the fields of electronics, materials, biology, and medicine, biomimetic technology can be used to develop implantable medical devices for replacing or assisting normal organ function, enabling people diagnosed with these diseases to regain a normal life.

Besides improving patient welfare, the development of medical devices provides numerous business opportunities. The medical device industry is expected to generate over 2 trillion U.S. dollars in global revenue annually in the future. The technology for researching and developing biomedical devices and diagnosis equipment requires many of the electronic components and electronic engineering technologies that are developed or manufactured in Taiwan. Along with high-quality domestic medical technology, the medical device industry in Taiwan should be developed. However, major differences exist between the medical device industry and the IT industry. That is, the R&D of medical devices requires interdisciplinary professionals in the fields of electronics and electronical engineering, IT, biology, and medicine to conduct the R&D, manufacture products, and conduct clinical trials.

Considering the lack of advanced medical device R&D experience and professionals in Taiwan, Professor Chung-Yu Wu (President of NCTU at the time) and Professor Wentai Liu from UC Santa Cruz founded the Biomimetic Systems Research Center (BSRC) at National Chiao Tung University in 2007. This center was established with an interdisciplinary team to encourage the R&D of key enabling technologies related to advanced implantable medical devices, increase communication within the global technology industry, and develop the medical device industry in Taiwan.

From 2011, BSRC receives funding from Ministry of Education, Taiwan under the project “Biomedical Electronics Translational Research Center” as part of NCTU-ATU Program to conduct translational researches in biomedical electronics. Research teams from China Medical University also join this project for joint collaborations.