1. “Human-on-a-chip”  Microfluidics-based devices for simulating physiology of individual organs or organ systems.  Pick one organ or system (e.g., lung, kidney) and report on the current state-of-the-art in replicating this system using microfluidics technology.
2. Hybrid artificial pancreas (also referred to as “bioartificial” pancreas)
3. Cochlear implants

For analyzing technologies which are intended to reproduce normal physiological functions, the appropriate questions to ask include:

– What aspects of the native organ function are replicated, and which are not? (this should include a quantitative analysis of function, for example filtration rates in artificial kidney compared to natural kidney)

– What are the limitations of the device/implant?

– What could be done to improve the performance to match the native organ?

– How does the device/implant interfere with normal physiology?