South Middlesex Times

For much of his childhood, Simiao Niu was troubled by psoriasis, a chronic and often painful skin condition. Sometimes, the prescribed ointment worked and treated the inflamed areas produced by the disease. However, he was never sure if he was using enough or when to stop treatment.

Years later, as an engineer on the team at Apple Inc. that devised electronics in Apple watches monitoring heart rhythm, Niu had a revelation: Could a similar wearable electronic device be developed to treat skin ailments such as psoriasis and provide patients with continuous feedback?

Now, Niu, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering at Rutgers-New Brunswick, has played a crucial role in developing a unique prototype that he and his research collaborators are calling a “living bioelectronic” designed to treat psoriasis.

Describing the advance in Science magazine, Niu and collaborators from the University of Chicago led by Bozhi Tian and Columbia University reported developing a patch—a combination of advanced electronics, living cells, and hydrogel—that is showing efficacy in experiments in mice. The patch represents not only a potential treatment for psoriasis but also a new technology platform to deliver treatments for medical needs as diverse as wounds and potentially various skin cancers.

“We were looking for a new type of device that combines sensing and treatment for managing skin inflammation diseases like psoriasis,” Niu said. “We found that by combining living bacteria, flexible electronics and adhesive skin interface materials, we were able to create a new type of device.”

The circular patch is about 1 inch in diameter and wafer-thin. It contains electronic chips, bacterial cells, and a gel made from starch and gelatin. Tests in mice conducted by the research team showed that the device could continuously monitor and improve psoriasis-like symptoms without irritating skin.

Niu stated that this invention is a leap forward from conventional bioelectronics which are generally composed of electronic components encased in soft synthetic layers to reduce irritation when in contact with the body. Examples include electrode patches used for electrocardiograms.

Niu’s invention could be seen as a “living drug” because it incorporates living cells as part of its therapy. S. epidermidis, which lives on human skin and has been shown to reduce inflammation, is incorporated into the device’s gel casing. A thin flexible printed circuit forms the skeleton of the device.

When placed on skin, the bacteria secrete compounds that reduce inflammation while sensors in the flexible circuits monitor healing indicators such as skin impedance temperature and humidity. The data collected by these circuits is wirelessly transmitted to a computer or cell phone allowing patients to monitor their healing process.

During his years at Apple before joining Rutgers faculty in 2022 Niu received numerous thank-you notes crediting Apple watches’ built-in heart rate monitors with saving lives by detecting conditions like atrial fibrillation which can lead to strokes if untreated.

“When you produce things that positively affect people’s lives you feel very proud,” Niu said. “That inspires me greatly motivates my current research.”

Clinical trials on human patients must come next according to Niu marking the first step toward commercialization followed by FDA approval once positive results with minimal side effects are demonstrated.

Other authors of this study from Rutgers included Fuying Dong and Chi Han two graduate students from Rutgers' Department of Biomedical Engineering.