9358289 Kovacs This NYI award will support two projects. The first project is the continued development of a micromachined heavy metal ion sensor for detecting contamination in groundwater. This work should have considerable impact in the monitoring of drinking water and process chemicals, as well as providing "early warning" signals to prevent irreversible environmental damage. Preliminary work has shown sensitivities as high as one part per billion, but considerable work remains to be done to improve the capabilities of the devices and to integrate control circuitry. The second project is the development of process technology for implantable, micromachined neural prostheses. Using preliminary devices, neural signals have been recorded at extended periods after implantation in mammalian and amphibian nerves. Further work would allow the designs to be refined, and amplifier circuits to be incorporated into the implants themselves. The ultimate goals of this work are to provide a direct interface between an amputee's limb stump and a prosthesis, and to provide a new tool for the study of signal encoding in peripheral nerves. ***
