Project-Based Research on Nanoelectromechanical Systems (NEMS) Their Importance, Usage and Applications to Medical Fields By SEAN BONILLA, Student, Salt Lake Community College and DR. NICK M. SAFAI, Professor, Salt Lake Community College ABSTRACT A sophomore college student performed this study on Nanoelectromechanical Systems (NEMS) in a project-based program. Topics discussed in this paper are the importance, usage and applications of the NEMS. The first author researched this technology and presented a poster at the ASEE annual conference; as a result, he is interested in further understanding the field of nanoelectromechanical engineering and its related issues and is also potentially inspired to pursue graduate studies in this area. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) use technology on the microscopic scale; the same can be said for NEMS on the nanoscale. NEMS can effectively collect data on the atomic level. Lightweight and low power requirements add to the versatility of these systems, which are being incorporated in a wide range of fields. The applications for these technologies go across multiple disciplines, including the medical field. Taking advantage of technologies at the nanoscale has already improved various forms of medical operations and instruments. INTRODUCTION The medical technology that has come to fruition due to the advances in NEMS technology has provided more options for treating patients, but nanomedicine has more it can offer. The United Nations Millennium Projects Task Force on Science, Technology and Innovations acknowledged the potential benefits of this technology by stating that nanotechnology has a lot to offer in disease and primary health care.1 NEMS technology can help treat diseases and infections, but its application can expand wider by improving diagnostics, wound treatment, and invasive operations such as surgeries. Today’s use of nanotherapeutics and nanodiagnostics shows what can be accomplished with this technology. Although NEMS are being used in the health industry, there are issues that researchers are attempting to solve in order to expand the use cases of this technology. 50
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