Research
The Fleischman laboratory works with biomedical applications of microelectromechanical systems (BioMEMS) and nanotechnology. Application areas include pressure sensing, imaging, drug delivery, tissue sampling, cell manipulation, and artificial organs. The overarching goal of the laboratory is to achieve ever greater functionality and cost reduction in miniature devices for improved medical diagnostics and therapies based on methods utilized in microelectronics. Work on cutting-edge technologies have gained the laboratory numerous US patents, including sensor systems to measure intraocular pressure on a contact lens, intracranial pressure ,and development of the so-called “bioartificial kidney” (an implanted ultrafiltration membrane plus cell-based “bioreactor” to restore kidney function to help patients in end-stage kidney disease requiring transplantation).
Among many clinical applications are high-performance ultrasonic transducers on a single chip to create high-quality intracoronary ultrasonic images; microfluidic magnetic systems to capture and analyze circulating tumor cells from whole blood, and the design and development of tiny implanted pressure/temperature sensors used in minimally invasive and noninvasive surgical procedures and post-surgical follow-up.
With personalized medicine and telemedicine enabling improved patient outcomes, the lab continues its investigations on how to (i) shrink high-functioning large systems into small computer-like chips for remote medicine, implantation or minimally invasive procedures and (ii) take advantage of the physics unique to very small things to enable new capabilities and technologies for unmet medical needs.
Biography
Aaron Fleischman received his BA in Physics from Yeshiva University in 1988, and his BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University in 1988 and 1993, respectively. He received his Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 2000. He worked at the IBM T.J. Watson research center in the IIV advanced semiconductor device development group. Since 1998 he has been the director of the BioMEMS and Nanotech Laboratory at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute Department of Biomedical Engineering. The overarching goal of the research in the Cleveland Clinic BioMEMS and Nanotech Laboratory is to create low-cost/high performance devices that reinvent medical diagnostic and therapeutic procedures by providing smart miniaturized systems for patient care. He has over 50 peer reviewed publications and over 20 patents.
Education & Professional Highlights
Research
Recent progress in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is being applied to biomedical applications and has become a new field of research unto itself, known as BioMEMS. BioMEMS is an enabling technology for ever-greater functionality and cost reduction in smaller devices for improved medical diagnostics and therapies, based upon the same technology used for computer chips.
For example, BioMEMS technology can enhance catheter-based procedures by providing pressure sensing, imaging, drug delivery and tissue sampling, all via tiny biochips. On the nanoscale, BioMEMS can be used to engineer micro-/nanometer-sized features for tissue engineering, protein analyses, assays, and cell interrogation.
Areas of application under investigation include:
- Miniature high-performance ultrasonic transducers, which integrate electronics and piezoelectric transducers on a single chip to create high-quality ultrasonic images.
- An implantable artificial kidney using Silicon Nanoporous Membranes.
- Biochips for cell detection and manipulation.
- Surface textures and systems to enhance tissue engineering of bioartificial tissues and organs.
- The design and development of miniature in situ sensors for pressure, temperature strain and flow for minimally invasive and noninvasive surgical procedures and post-surgical follow-up.
Our Team
Selected Publications
View publications for Aaron Fleischman, PhD
(Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)
Williams PS, Moore LR, Joshi P, Goodin M, Zborowski M, Fleischman A. Microfluidic chip for graduated magnetic separation of circulating tumor cells by their epithelial cell adhesion molecule expression and magnetic nanoparticle binding. J Chromatogr A. 2021 Jan 25;1637:461823. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2020.461823. Epub 2020 Dec 17. PMID: 33385746
Muppala S, Rahman MT, Krukovets I, Verbovetskiy D, Pluskota E, Fleischman A, Vince DG, Plow EF, Stenina-Adognravi O. The P387 thrombospondin-4 variant promotes accumulation of macrophages in atherosclerotic lesions. FASEB J. 2020 Sep;34(9):11529-11545. doi: 10.1096/fj.201901434RRRR. Epub 2020 Jul 20. PMID: 32686880
Sakaie KE, Kuban B, Fleischman A, DeBenedictis M, Rachitskaya A, Yuan A, Roy A, Lowe MJ. Towards safe operation of an active retinal prosthesis during functional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging. Magn Reson Imaging. 2020 Oct;72:14-18. doi: 10.1016/j.mri.2020.06.013. Epub 2020 Jun 25. PMID: 32592728
Fedewa R, Puri R, Fleischman E, Lee J, Prabhu D, Wilson DL, Vince DG, Fleischman A. Artificial Intelligence in Intracoronary Imaging. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2020 May 29;22(7):46. doi: 10.1007/s11886-020-01299-w. PMID: 32472189 Review.
Behfar MH, Abada E, Sydanheimo L, Goldman K, Fleischman AJ, Gupta N, Ukkonen L, Roy S. Inductive passive sensor for intraparenchymal and intraventricular monitoring of intracranial pressure. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2016 Aug;2016:1950-1954. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2016.7591105. PMID: 28268710
Yang J, Charif AC, Puskas JE, Phillips H, Shanahan KJ, Garsed J, Fleischman A, Goldman K, Roy S, Luebbers MT, Dombrowski SM, Luciano MG. Biocompatibility evaluation of a thermoplastic rubber for wireless telemetric intracranial pressure sensor coating. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2015 May;45:83-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2015.01.018. Epub 2015 Feb 3. PMID: 25688030 Free PMC article.
Kim EJ, Fleischman AJ, Muschler GF, Roy S. Response of bone marrow derived connective tissue progenitor cell morphology and proliferation on geometrically modulated microtextured substrates. Biomed Microdevices. 2013 Jun;15(3):385-96. doi: 10.1007/s10544-012-9727-7.
PMID: 23378044 Free PMC article.
Smith RA, Fissell WH, Fleischman AJ, Zorman CA. A low-cost automated streaming potential measurement system. J Lab Autom. 2012 Apr;17(2):125-33. doi: 10.1177/2211068211425663. Epub 2012 Jan 24. PMID: 22357558
Desai N, Alex A, AbdelHafez F, Calabro A, Goldfarb J, Fleischman A, Falcone T. Three-dimensional in vitro follicle growth: overview of culture models, biomaterials, design parameters and future directions. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2010 Oct 14;8:119. doi: 10.1186/1477-7827-8-119. PMID: 20946661 Free PMC article. Review.
Ferrell N, Desai RR, Fleischman AJ, Roy S, Humes HD, Fissell WH. A microfluidic bioreactor with integrated transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurement electrodes for evaluation of renal epithelial cells. Biotechnol Bioeng. 2010 Nov 1;107(4):707-16. doi: 10.1002/bit.22835. PMID: 20552673 Free PMC article.
Chandrana C, Kharin N, Vince G, Roy S, Fleischman A. Demonstration of second-harmonic IVUS feasibility with focused broadband miniature transducers. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 2010 May;57(5):1077-85. doi: 10.1109/TUFFC.2010.1519. PMID: 20442019
Kanani DM, Fissell WH, Roy S, Dubnisheva A, Fleischman A, Zydney AL. Permeability - Selectivity Analysis for Ultrafiltration: Effect of Pore Geometry. J Memb Sci. 2010 Mar 1;349(1-2):405. doi: 10.1016/j.memsci.2009.12.003. PMID: 20161691 Free PMC article.
Fissell WH, Dubnisheva A, Eldridge AN, Fleischman AJ, Zydney AL, Roy S. High-Performance Silicon Nanopore Hemofiltration Membranes. J Memb Sci. 2009 Jan 5;326(1):58-63. doi: 10.1016/j.memsci.2008.09.039. PMID: 20054402 Free PMC article.
Chandrana C, Talman J, Pan T, Roy S, Fleischman A. Design and analysis of MEMS based PVDF ultrasonic transducers for vascular imaging. Sensors (Basel). 2010;10(9):8740-50. doi: 10.3390/s100908740. Epub 2010 Sep 21. PMID: 22163683 Free PMC article.
Kim EJ, Boehm CA, Mata A, Fleischman AJ, Muschler GF, Roy S.Post microtextures accelerate cell proliferation and osteogenesis. Acta Biomater. 2010 Jan;6(1):160-9. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2009.06.016. Epub 2009 Jun 16. PMID: 19539062 Free PMC article.
Mata A, Kim EJ, Boehm CA, Fleischman AJ, Muschler GF, Roy S. A three-dimensional scaffold with precise micro-architecture and surface micro-textures. Biomaterials. 2009 Sep;30(27):4610-7. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2009.05.023. Epub 2009 Jun 12. PMID: 19524292 Free PMC article.
Nath P, Strelnik J, Vasanji A, Moore LR, Williams PS, Zborowski M, Roy S, Fleischman AJ.
Development of multistage magnetic deposition microscopy. Anal Chem. 2009 Jan 1;81(1):43-9. doi: 10.1021/ac8010186. PMID: 19055419
Kim EJ, Boehm CA, Fleischman AJ, Muschler GF, Kostov YV, Roy S. Modulating human connective tissue progenitor cell behavior on cellulose acetate scaffolds by surface microtextures. J Biomed Mater Res A. 2009 Sep 15;90(4):1198-205. doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.32160. PMID: 18680188 Free PMC article.
Roy S, Fleischman A, Benzel EC, Cameron BD, Ferrara L, Goel VK. Basic Science Symposium II: MEMS Technology. SAS J. 2008 Jun 1;2(2):120-9. doi: 10.1016/SASJ-2008-Symposium2. eCollection 2008. PMID: 25802612 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
Ferrara LA, Gordon I, Schlenk R, Coquillette M, Fleischman AJ, Roy S, Togawa D, Bauer TW, Benzel EC. In Vivo Assessment of Bone Graft/Endplate Contact Pressure in a Caprine Interbody Pseudarthrosis Model: A Preliminary Biomechanical Characterization of the Fusion Process for the Development of a Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Biosensor. SAS J. 2008 Mar 1;2(1):1-8. doi: 10.1016/SASJ-2007-0102-RR. eCollection 2008. PMID: 25802595 Free PMC article.
Fissell WH, Fleischman AJ, Humes HD, Roy S. Development of continuous implantable renal replacement: past and future. Transl Res. 2007 Dec;150(6):327-36. doi: 10.1016/j.trsl.2007.06.001. Epub 2007 Jul 2. PMID: 18022594 Review.
Mata A, Boehm C, Fleischman AJ, Muschler GF, Roy S. Connective tissue progenitor cell growth characteristics on textured substrates. Int J Nanomedicine. 2007;2(3):389-406.PMID: 18019838 Free PMC article.
Ferrara LA, Gordon I, Coquillette M, Milks R, Fleischman AJ, Roy S, Goel VK, Benzel EC. A preliminary biomechanical evaluation in a simulated spinal fusion model. Laboratory investigation. J Neurosurg Spine. 2007 Nov;7(5):542-8. doi: 10.3171/SPI-07/11/542. PMID: 17977197
Fissell WH, Manley S, Dubnisheva A, Glass J, Magistrelli J, Eldridge AN, Fleischman AJ, Zydney AL, Roy S. Ficoll is not a rigid sphere. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2007 Oct;293(4):F1209-13. doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.00097.2007. Epub 2007 Jul 25. PMID: 17652374
Benzel EC, Kayanja M, Fleischman A, Roy S. Spine biomechanics: fundamentals and future. Clin Neurosurg. 2006;53:98-105. PMID: 17380743 Review. No abstract available.
Melnik K, Sun J, Fleischman A, Roy S, Zborowski M, Chalmers JJ. Quantification of magnetic susceptibility in several strains of Bacillus spores: implications for separation and detection. Biotechnol Bioeng. 2007 Sep 1;98(1):186-92. doi: 10.1002/bit.21400. PMID: 17335063
Fissell WH, Manley S, Westover A, Humes HD, Fleischman AJ, Roy S. Differentiated growth of human renal tubule cells on thin-film and nanostructured materials. ASAIO J. 2006 May-Jun;52(3):221-7. doi: 10.1097/01.mat.0000205228.30516.9c. PMID: 16760708
Schneider T, Moore LR, Jing Y, Haam S, Williams PS, Fleischman AJ, Roy S, Chalmers JJ, Zborowski M. Continuous flow magnetic cell fractionation based on antigen expression level. J Biochem Biophys Methods. 2006 Jul 31;68(1):1-21. doi: 10.1016/j.jbbm.2006.02.011. Epub 2006 Mar 29. PMID: 16675023
Mata A, Boehm C, Fleischman AJ, Muschler G, Roy S. Analysis of connective tissue progenitor cell behavior on polydimethylsiloxane smooth and channel micro-textures. Biomed Microdevices. 2002 Dec;4(4):267-75. doi: 10.1023/a:1020950022074. PMID: 16596170 Free PMC article.
Smiechowski MF, Lvovich VF, Roy S, Fleischman A, Fissell WH, Riga AT. Electrochemical detection and characterization of proteins. Biosens Bioelectron. 2006 Dec 15;22(5):670-7. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2006.02.008. Epub 2006 Apr 3. PMID: 16580835
Talman JR, Fleischman AJ, Roy S. Orthogonal-coil RF probe for implantable passive sensors. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2006 Mar;53(3):538-46. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2005.864496. PMID: 16532781
Lopez CA, Fleischman AJ, Roy S, Desai TA. Evaluation of silicon nanoporous membranes and ECM-based microenvironments on neurosecretory cells. Biomaterials. 2006 Jun;27(16):3075-83. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2005.12.017. Epub 2006 Feb 2. PMID: 16457879
Mata A, Fleischman AJ, Roy S. Characterization of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) properties for biomedical micro/nanosystems. Biomed Microdevices. 2005 Dec;7(4):281-93. doi: 10.1007/s10544-005-6070-2. PMID: 16404506
Nath P, Roy S, Conlisk T, Fleischman AJ. A system for micro/nano fluidic flow diagnostics. Biomed Microdevices. 2005 Sep;7(3):169-77. doi: 10.1007/s10544-005-3022-9. PMID: 16133803
Mata A, Su X, Fleischman AJ, Roy S, Banks BA, Miller SK, Midura RJ. Osteoblast attachment to a textured surface in the absence of exogenous adhesion proteins. IEEE Trans Nanobioscience. 2003 Dec;2(4):287-94. doi: 10.1109/tnb.2003.820268. PMID: 15376920
Benzel E, Ferrara L, Roy S, Fleischman A. Micromachines in spine surgery. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2004 Mar 15;29(6):601-6. doi: 10.1097/01.brs.0000115141.16396.e6. PMID: 15014268 No abstract available.
Benzel EC, Ferrara LA, Roy S, Fleischman AJ. Biomaterials and implantable devices: discoveries in the spine surgery arena. Clin Neurosurg. 2002;49:209-25. PMID: 12506556 No abstract available.
Mata A, Boehm C, Fleischman AJ, Muschler G, Roy S. Growth of connective tissue progenitor cells on microtextured polydimethylsiloxane surfaces. J Biomed Mater Res. 2002 Dec 15;62(4):499-506. doi: 10.1002/jbm.10353. PMID: 12221697
Kotzar G, Freas M, Abel P, Fleischman A, Roy S, Zorman C, Moran JM, Melzak J. Evaluation of MEMS materials of construction for implantable medical devices. Biomaterials. 2002 Jul;23(13):2737-50. doi: 10.1016/s0142-9612(02)00007-8.
Patents
| US Patent | Patent Title | Issue Date | First-Named Inventor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7,728,442 | Method and Apparatus for In Vivo Sensing | 10/23/2007 | Aaron Fleischman, PhD |
| 7,169,106 | Intraocular Pressure Measurement System Including a Sensor Mounted in a Contact Lens | 01/30/2007 | Aaron Fleischman, PhD |
| 6,749,568 | Measurement System Including a Sensor Mounted In a Contact Lens | 06/15/2004 | Aaron Fleischman, PhD |
| 6,641,540 | Miniature Ultrasound Transducer | 11/04/2003 | Aaron Fleischman, PhD |
| 6,623,984 | MEMS-Based Integrated Magnetic Particle Identification System | 09/23/2003 | Aaron Fleischman, PhD |
Careers
Research News
A new device created by Drs. Fleischman and Zborowski may make it easier to track cancer’s course with a simple blood test.
An “intelligent” contact lens offers breakthrough diagnostic and therapeutic potential, from monitoring intraocular pressure on a continuous basis to delivering glaucoma medications directly into the eye.