Chen’s Technology Regrows Missing Teeth

Dr. Jie Chen

Alumnus Jie Chen, a 1998 ECE Ph.D. graduate and associate professor of electrical engineering at the University of Alberta, has developed patent-pending technology that enables the regrowth of teeth and dental tissue. Dr. Chen and his colleagues have designed a tiny wireless device for insertion into a patient's mouth which can gently massage the gums to stimulate the growth of the tooth root. The device is still in the prototype stage but is expected to be on the market within two years. The device will also be capable of straightening up smiles by stimulating jawbone growth.

Dr. Chen was an advisee of Professor K. J. Ray Liu (ECE/ISR) during his study at Maryland. Dr. Chen's research interests include nanoscale circuit design and applying nanotechnology for biomedical applications. Dr. Chen has published over 50 scientific papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings, and has co-authored a book on genomic signal processing and another book on circuit and system design for digital video coding. He was also nominated as a Fellow of Canada’s National Institution of Nanotechnology.

Published August 8, 2006