토토사이트 토사장H

On September 8, Hanyang University announced that a joint research team led by Hanyang University Professor Kim Do-hwan from the Department of Chemical Engineering, in collaboration with Professor Jin Zhu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Young Woo-bin of KAIST, has developed the world’s first self-healing stretchable hearing sensor that precisely mimics the cochlear basilar membrane, the core organ responsible for human hearing.

The basilar membrane separates and detects sound by frequency in our ears. However, once damaged, it does not naturally regenerate and often leads to hearing loss or permanent hearing impairment. Current clinical solutions, such as cochlear implants, face limitations due to the burden of having surgery, high costs, and potential complications.

To overcome these challenges, the team successfully replicated the structure and sound detection mechanism of the basilar membrane by creating an ‘ion-conductive stretchable hearing sensor.’ The sensor is capable of self-healing after external damage, maintaining ears' auditory function semi-permanently. By integrating high-performance ion-conducting polymer materials, the sensor also achieves greater sensitivity and a wider frequency range compared to human hearing.

Professor Kim explained, “When stretched, the sensor forms an ‘ion cage’ structure that regulates ion movement to precisely detect subtle acoustic signals. Moreover, thanks to the polymer design with hydrophobic fluorine groups and disulfide bonds, the sensor stably retains its self-healing function even in moisture-rich biological environments.”

Building on the achievement, the team plans to miniaturize the sensor into an implantable "artificial basilar membrane," aiming to create a next-generation medical device that can dramatically improve the quality of life for patients with hearing impairment.

The research was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) under programs including Mid-Career Researcher Support, Nanomaterials and Materials Development, Advanced Converging Technology Development, and Korea–China cooperative research initiatives. The results were published online on September 2(KST) in the renowned international journal Nature Communications, and one related patent has been filed.

The paper, A reconfigurable piezo-ionotropic polymer membrane for sustainable multi-resonance acoustic sensing, lists Professor Young Woo-bin(KAIST), Dr. Kim Joo-sung(Hanyang University), and Dr. Kong Zheng-yang(Hanyang University) as co-first authors, with Professor Kim Do-hwan(Hanyang University) and Professor Jin Zhu(Chinese Academy of Sciences) as co-corresponding authors.