First-generation RF-powered BION (RFB1) microstimulator. Image Credit: Alfred Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering
In 1991, Dr. Gerald Loeb, at the time a Professor of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering at Queen’s University (Kingston, Canada), first proposed a miniature, injectable, RF-powered device for the stimulation of tissue or motor neurons. The BION® device was developed based on this concept as a joint project between Queens University (Kingston, ON, Canada), IIT (Chicago, IL), and the Alfred E. Mann Foundation (Valencia, CA) with funding from the NIH Neural Prosthesis Program. The RF BION 1 (RFB1) was then manufactured by the Alfred Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering at USC.
Alfred E. Mann holds B.A. and M.S. degrees in physics from the University of California, Los Angeles and honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Southern California, The Johns Hopkins University, Western University and the Technion Institute (Israel), as well as, Research Professor, University of Southern California, and Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Bioengineering, University of California Los Angeles.