Antennas and Electromagnetics Group seminar – 2nd of May 2025

When: Friday, May 2, 2025, 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Where:

On the 2nd of May we will have a talk from Professor Gaetano Marrocco. The title of Professor Gaetano Marrocco’s talk is: “Cyber-Prosthetics as Bodycentric Electromagnetic Devices: From Structural to Metal-free Bio-integtated Antennas”.

The concept of Cyber-Prosthesis redefines implantable devices not only as mechanical surrogates but also as bodycentric wireless nodes capable of sensing, storing, and transmitting biophysical information. Within this paradigm, the structural components of prosthetic implants—such as orthopedic fixtures, dental screws, stents, and heart valves—are converted into antenna systems operating in the UHF RFID band. These systems communicate through body tissues by leveraging battery-less backscattering techniques, requiring only minimal hardware and no modification of the implant's mechanical integrity.

The lecture will present an overview of antennification strategies, from T-match and inductive loop matching to volumetric and conformal integration with metallic and polymeric implantable structures. Experimental case-studies will illustrate wireless measurement of local temperature, stress, and even early-stage failures such as micro-cracks or post-surgical infections, using standard off-the-shelf RFID readers.

A central part of the talk will focus on graphene-enabled wireless implants. In particular, Laser Induced Graphene (LIG) is emerging as a disruptive technique to directly engrave conductive patterns on biocompatible polymers such as PEEK and PI, which are already widely used in medical-grade implants. The recent possibility of electroplating LIG with gold enables a substantial boost in radiation efficiency and ensures long-term biostability and biocompatibility. Furthermore, graphene transfer techniques now allow the deposition of pre-designed layouts onto bioresorbable substrates, enabling the realization of fully transient cyber-implants for postoperative monitoring, designed to safely disappear after fulfilling their diagnostic role.

Speaker bio: Gaetano Marrocco obtained the laurea in Electronic Engineering and 
Ph.D. in Applied Electromagnetics from the University of L'Aquila, Italy, in 1994 and 1998, respectively. Researcher at the University of Roma Tor Vergata in 1994-2014. Associate Professor of Electromagnetics in 2013-2017. Guest Professor at the University of Paris-Est Marne la Vallèe in 2015, and Full Professor at the University of Roma Tor Vergata since 2018. Since 2018 to 2024 he served as Director of the Medical Engineering School and currently is the Deputy Director of the Department of Civil engineering and Computer Science Engineering.

Hybrid mode: In-person: Graduate Centre GC601 Montagu LT + Online (Click here to join the meeting).

All welcome.

Key contact: James Kelly.