Gian Luca Barbruni

Gian Luca Barbruni is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Bio/CMOS Interfaces Laboratory at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, where he focuses on designing novel circuital architectures for in-memory sensing and computing, and on drinkable µm-sized bioelectronics for enhanced brain imaging and precise diagnostics. He also served as a Doctoral Assistant at the Integrated Systems Laboratory (LSI1) at EPFL.

Dr. Barbruni earned his Ph.D. in Microsystems and Microelectronics from EPFL in 2023, focusing on the design and development of innovative cortical visual prosthesis to revert blindness. Prior to that, he received his M.Sc. in Biomedical Instrumentation (2019) and B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering (2017) from Politecnico di Torino, Italy.

His research primarily centers on the intersection of low-power mixed-signal IC design, wireless power transfer, and microfabrication techniques for biomedical applications. His work spans brain-computer interfaces, vision restoration technologies, cancer diagnostics, and electrochemical sensing systems. Dr. Barbruni's approach integrates circuit design with electrode-tissue interface engineering to create miniaturized, wireless neural interfaces that overcome limitations of traditional neurostimulation systems. His research on frequency-switching inductive links has demonstrated significant improvements in efficiency and power delivery for large-scale neural interfaces.

His publication record shows a clear progression toward increasingly sophisticated and miniaturized neural interface systems, with recent work focusing on in-memory sensing for cancer diagnostics and advanced microfabrication techniques for electrode integration. The consistent theme across his publications is the development of wireless, miniaturized systems that can operate within safety constraints while delivering sufficient power for neural stimulation and sensing applications.

Dr. Barbruni has received several notable recognitions for his work:

• Best Student Paper Award in Electronics at IEEE MOCAST, 2022 in Bremen, Germany

As a Principal Investigator, he has secured multiple competitive grants including MINT-CMOS (Enable 2022) and WIMOS-RES (Enable 2022). He serves as a reviewer for prestigious journals including IEEE Transactions of Biomedical Circuits and Systems and IEEE Sensors Journal, and as a TPC member for major conferences such as IEEE BioCAS, IEEE Sensors, IEEE MeMeA, and IEEE ICECS.

Dr. Barbruni is actively involved with the Bio/CMOS Interfaces Laboratory in Neuchâtel, part of EPFL's School of Engineering, where he leads research on novel circuital architectures for in-memory sensing and computing. His work on 'Neural Dot' represents a significant advancement in fully integrated monolithic chips for neural interfaces, featuring wafer-level CMOS-compatible post-processing techniques for electrode integration that address traditional challenges in miniaturized neural implant design.