Esther Rodriguez-Villegas facts for kids

Esther Rodriguez-Villegas is a brilliant Spanish engineer and inventor. She was born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz. She is now a Professor at Imperial College London, where she teaches about electronics that use very little power. Professor Rodriguez-Villegas creates small, energy-saving electronic devices. These devices can check your body's signals in real-time. This helps doctors understand how your body is working. In 2020, she won the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal for her amazing work on medical devices you can wear. She also became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the same year.

Early Life and School

Esther Rodriguez-Villegas went to the University of Seville in Spain. There, she earned both her master's and doctoral degrees. She was such a good student that she won the San Alberto Magno Prize. This award is given to the top student of the year. For her doctoral research, she studied special electronic parts called floating-gate MOSFETs. After finishing her studies, she received a special grant from the Government of Spain. This allowed her to join the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona to continue her research.

Her Research and Work

In 2002, Professor Rodriguez-Villegas started working at Imperial College London. She later became a Professor of Low Power Electronics. Her work focuses on creating electronic circuits that use very little energy. These circuits are used for medical purposes. They can monitor signals from the body with great accuracy. This helps researchers understand how diseases develop. These special circuits can also help doctors figure out what might be wrong with a patient. She is especially interested in conditions that affect the brain and breathing. In 2010, she received a grant to develop wearable devices. These devices help diagnose and monitor epilepsy.

Helping People with Sleep Apnoea

In 2004, the Epilepsy Society asked Professor Rodriguez-Villegas for help. They wanted a small, low-power electronic device to monitor for sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea is a condition where a person stops breathing for short periods during sleep. The society hoped her technology could help prevent serious problems for people with epilepsy.

Based on her work, she started a company called Acurable in 2016. Companies like Innovate UK and Microsoft have supported Acurable. Acurable created a sensor called AcuPebble. This device can accurately diagnose and manage breathing problems. It works by listening to acoustic signals from the body. The AcuPebble can help patients with conditions like apnoea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and whooping cough. The National Health Service (NHS) successfully tested the device in 2019. It also received a CE mark in 2020. This means it meets European safety standards.

Monitoring Brains with TaiNi

Besides the AcuPebble, Professor Rodriguez-Villegas also worked on another device called the TaiNi. This device is wireless and very light, weighing only 1.5 grams. It uses very little power. The TaiNi can monitor the brains of mice for three days. Being able to read information remotely means researchers do not have to handle the mice as much. This reduces stress for the mice. Also, because the device is so light, the mice can move around more freely.

Helping During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Rodriguez-Villegas joined a team of volunteers. They designed an app to help track who people had been in contact with. This kind of app helps slow down the spread of diseases. However, Apple decided to support only one government-sponsored app per country. So, Professor Rodriguez-Villegas's app was not used.

Awards and Recognitions

Professor Rodriguez-Villegas has received many awards for her important work:

• 2007 Johnson & Johnson Proof of Concept Award
• 2009 Complutense University of Madrid Top Scientist in Spain under the age of 36
• 2009 Institution of Engineering and Technology Award in Information and Communications Technology
• 2014 X Prize Foundation Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE Distinguished Award
• 2018 Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International Global 3Rs Award
• 2020 Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal
• 2020 Finalist in the FDM Everywoman in Technology Academic Award
• 2020 Elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
• 2021 Merit Award of the Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU)
• 2024 IEEE Fellow