The launch of Neuropsychiatric Research provides a much-needed interdisciplinary platform bridging neurology, psychiatry, developmental neuroscience, and translational medicine, aiming to address the growing global burden of neuropsychiatric disorders affecting over 1 billion people.

Helping physicians to distinguish dangerous, unstable plaque in the arteries is the goal of a research project led by Hangbo Zhao, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. His work has earned a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Trailblazer Award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering(NIBIB), which supports new and early-stage investigators who combine engineering, the physical sciences and the life sciences to tackle important biomedical challenges. Zhao’s project, “High-Resolution 3D Electrical Impedance Mapping of Metabolically Active Plaques Using Multilayered Stretchable Liquid Metal Electronics,” uses electrical measurements to reveal features of arterial plaque that conventional imaging isn’t able to capture. “Rather than replacing existing imaging technologies, the catheter is designed to provide physicians with additional information about plaque composition and metabolic activity,” Zhao explained. That approach builds on Zhao’s broader research in micro and nanomanufacturing, soft electronics and soft robotics. Much of the work of his research groupfocuses on developing electronic systems that can bend, stretch and conform to soft biological tissues. His group addresses is developing mechanics-driven manufacturing techniques that fabricate multilayered stretchable circuits from liquid metal, allowing the sensing surface to conform closely to the artery while maintaining reliable electrical performance. The stretchable electronics are integrated onto a balloon catheter that can be threaded through narrow arteries in a compact configuration. Once the catheter reaches the target site, the balloon is gently inflated so the electronics make close, uniform contact with the vessel wall. This close contact is essential for obtaining consistent electrical measurements around the artery, allowing the device to create a three-dimensional map that could help physicians identify plaque at greater risk of rupture.