Browsing by Author "Chiu, Tzai-Wen"

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A 64-CHANNEL WIRELESS NEURAL SENSING MICROSYSTEM WITH TSV-EMBEDDED MICRO-PROBE ARRAY FOR NEURAL SIGNAL ACQUISITION
(2017-01-01)
Huang, Yu-Chieh
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Huang, Po-Tsang
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Hu, Yu-Chen
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Wu, Shang-Lin
;
You, Yan-Huei
To enhance the signal integrity of high-density neural-sensing signals, this work presents an implantable high spatial resolution mu-probe array with through-silicon via (TSV) 2.5D integration technology that realizes a miniaturized implantable device on flexible printed circuit (FPC) interposer. The proposed microsystem was composed of two 32-channel neural sensing chips and one radio frequency chip for neural signal processing. The mu-probe array can achieve better signal-to-noise ratio with neural-signal acquisition and processing circuit composed of a pseudo-resistor-based analog front-end amplifier. Moreover, a receiving antenna is also implemented on the backside of FPC for wireless data and power transmission. The feasibility of the proposed mu-probe array, Tx and Rx antenna, 32-channel neural sensing circuits in the 64-channel wireless microsystem have been successfully demonstrated for future integration and animal experiments.
A charge accumulation-free voltage-controlled functional electrical stimulator with bi-phasic sinusoidal stimulation
(2019-11-01)
Chen, Wei-Hsien
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Chang, Chia-Hung
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Shih, Horng-Yuan
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Chiu, Tzai-Wen
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Kuo, Chien-Nan
This paper presents a charge accumulation-free voltage-controlled (VC) bi-phasic sinusoidal functional electrical stimulator (FES) for bioelectronic application. Traditionally, constant current (CC) pulse-shaped FESs with active or passive charge balancers are used to compensate for accumulated charges arise from process, voltage and temperature (PVT) variation as a result of long-term stimulation. Unlike the CC pulse-shaped FES, the VC sinusoidal-shaped FES is adopted here to avoid charge accumulation over time. The charge balancer is not required, substantially reducing system complexity and the chip area of the FES. To demonstrate the feasibility of concept, in this paper, four channels of VC bi-phasic sinusoidal-shaped FESs are integrated with the bio-potential recording circuit to compare with four channels of CC bi-phasic pulse-shaped FESs that are integrated with the same neural recording system for comparison. Measurements indicate an absence of charge accumulation as a result of the VC FESs. In addition, here we adopt the sinusoidal stimulation to reduce transient effects on tissue in comparison to a pulse-shaped method. The bio-potential activities of a cockroach leg that is stimulated for 50 s by the proposed bi-phasic sinusoidal stimulation are recorded. The measured bio-potential activities of a cockroach leg show that no stimulation-evoked leg movement occurs under stimulation by the sinusoidal waveform.
A Parylene-C based 16 Channels Flexible Bio-electrode for ECoG Recording
(2014)
Chou, Lei-Chun
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Tsai, Shang-Wei
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Chang, Wun-Lun
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Chiou, Jin-Chern
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Chiu, Tzai-Wen
Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) technology is used in a bio-electrode for measuring electrocorticography (ECoG) signals in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. The electrical signal in the rat brain is evoked by auditory stimulation and can be detected with newly developed bio-electrode sensors. A back-end system can record signals from eighteen positions. One signal was used as the ground signal, and one was used as the reference signal. The average results for 100 samples revealed the relationship between temporal resolution and spatial resolution of sixteen positions in the brain. The bioelectrode was fabricated with two parylene layers (10um, 1um) to cover the platinum metal wires. Oxygen plasma is used to etch the bioelectrode and to define a stable size and shape in production of batches of electrodes. To simplify implantation, the bioelectrode was designed to fit the curvature of SD rat head bones, and a special connector was used to transmit signals to the back-end system, which successfully recorded Auditory Evoked Potentials (AEP) signals after implant surgery.
An Advanced 2.5-D Heterogeneous Integration Packaging for High-Density Neural Sensing Microsystem
(2017-04-01)
Hu, Yu-Chen
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Huang, Yu-Chieh
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Huang, Po-Tsang
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Wu, Shang-Lin
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Chang, Hsiao-Chun
In the traditional neural sensing microstructure, the limited metal line pitch and the metal layer numbers restrict the neural signal routing ability from electrodes to circuit chips. Miniature packaging and excessive noise interference bottlenecks are some of the challenges faced by the electrodes and circuit chips integration with traditional wire bonding. This paper proposes a 2.5-D heterogeneous integration neural sensing microsystem based on the silicon substrate to overcome these issues. With standard semiconductor and 3-D integration processes, high-channel-density (256 channels at 25 mm(2)) neural sensing microsystem is achieved. Through silicon via provides the shortest vertical interconnection and dramatically minimizes the packaging. Furthermore, the interposer can carry multiple chips to enhance the function of the biosensor. Electrical characteristics and reliability examinations reveal its high quality and great performance as compared to traditional approaches. This novel highly integrated neural sensing microsystem is expected to contribute to the biomedical field for exploring and solving unknown biological mysteries.
An Implantable 128-Channel Wireless Neural-Sensing Microsystem using TSV-Embedded Dissolvable mu-Needle Array and Flexible Interposer
(2017-01-01)
Huang, Po-Tsang
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Huang, Yu-Chieh
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Wu, Shang-Lin
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Hu, Yu-Chen
;
Lu, Ming-Wei
For implanted neural-sensing devices, one of the remaining challenges is to transmit stable power/data (P/D) transmission for high spatiotemporal resolution neural data. This paper presents a miniaturized implantable 128-channel wireless neural-sensing microsystem using TSV-embedded dissolvable mu-needle array, a flexible interposer and 4 dies by 2.5D/3D TSV heterogeneous SiP technology. The 4 dies are 2 neural-signal acquisition ICs implemented by 90nm CMOS, 1 neural-signal processor by 40nm CMOS and 1 wireless P/D transmission circuitry by 0.18 mu m CMOS. Thus, the proposed wireless microsystem realizes 128-channel neural-signal sensing within the area of 5mm x 5mm, neural feature extraction and wireless P/D transmission using an on-interposer inductor. The overall average power of the circuits in this microsystem is only 9.85mW.
An Ultra-High-Density 256-channel/25mm(2) Neural Sensing Microsystem using TSV-embedded Neural Probes
(2016)
Huang, Yu-Chieh
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Huang, Po-Tsang
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Wu, Shang-Lin
;
Hui, Yu-Chen
;
You, Yan-Huei
Highly integrated neural sensing microsystems are crucial to capture accurate signals for brain function investigations. In this paper, a 256-channel/25 mm(2) neural sensing microsystem is presented based on through-silicon-via (TSV) 2.5D integration. This microsystem composes of dissolvable mu-needles, TSV-embedded mu-probes, 256-channel neural amplifiers, 11-bit area-power-efficient SAR ADCs and serializers. Based on the dissolvable mu-needles and TSV 2.5D integration, this microsystem can detect 256 ECoG/LFP signals within the small area of 5mm x 5mm. Additionally, the neural amplifier realizes 57.8dB gain with only 9.8 mu W for each channel, and the 9.7-bit ENOB of the SAR ADC at 32kS/s can be achieved with 0.42 mu W and 0.036 mm(2). The overall power of this microsystem is only 3.79mW for 256-channel neural sensing.
Arousing Feedback Rectifies Lapse in Performance and Corresponding EEG Power Spectrum
(2010)
Jung, Tzyy-Ping
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Huang, Kuan-Chih
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Chuang, Chun-Hsiang
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Chen, Jian-Ann
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Ko, Li-Wei
This study explores electroencephalographic (EEG) dynamics and behavioral changes in response to arousing auditory signals presented to individuals experiencing momentary cognitive lapses. Arousing auditory feedback was delivered to the subjects in half of the non-responded lane-deviation events during a sustained-attention driving task, which immediately agitated subject\'s responses to the events. The improved behavioral performance was accompanied by concurrent power suppression in the theta- and alpha-bands in the lateral occipital cortices. This study further explores the feasibility of estimating the efficacy of arousing feedback presented to the drowsy subjects by monitoring the changes in EEG power spectra.
Effect of Respiratory Modulation on Relationship between Heart Rate Variability and Motion Sickness
(2011)
Lin, Chin-Teng
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Lin, Chun-Ling
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Chiu, Tzai-Wen
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Duann, Jeng-Ren
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Jung, Tzyy-Ping
This study investigates the interplay among heart rate variability (HRV), respiration, and the severity of motion sickness (MS) in a realistic passive driving task. Although HRV is a commonly used metrically in physiological research or even believed to be a direct measure of sympathovagal activities, the results of MS-effected HRV remain mixed across studies. The goal of this study is to find the source of these contradicting results of HRV associated with MS. Experimental results of this study showed that the group trend of the low-frequency (LF) component and the LF/HF ratio increased and high-frequency (HF) component decreased significantly as self-reported MS level increased (p<0.001), consistent with a perception-driven autonomic response of the cardiovascular system. However, in one of the subjects, the relationship was reversed when individuals intentionally adjust themselves (deep breathing) to relieve the discomfort of MS during the experiments. It appears that the correlations between HRV and MS level were higher when individuals made fewer adjustments (the number of deep breathing) during the passive driving experiments.
Functional data analysis of single-trial auditory evoked potentials recorded in the awake rat
(2017-11-01)
Pokora, Ondrej
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Kolacek, Jan
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Chiu, Tzai-Wen
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Qiu, Wei
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生物科技學系
Evoked potentials (EPs) reflect neural processing and are widely used to study sensory perception. However, methods of analyzing EP have been limited mostly to the conventional ensemble averaging of EP response trials to a repeated stimulus, and less so to single-trials analysis. Here we applied a new approach - functional data analysis (FDA) - to study auditory EP in the rat model of tinnitus, in which overdoses of salicylate (SS) are known to alter sound perception characteristically, as the same way as in humans. Single-trial auditory EPs were analyzed, after being collected on a daily basis from an awake rat, which had been surgically implanted with intracranial electrodes over its auditory cortex. Single-trial EP integrals were generated with sound stimuli (tones and clicks) presented systematically over an intensity range. The results were approximated using the cubic spline to give sets of smoothed response-level functions in dependence on the sound intensity. These functional data were analyzed using the methods of FDA. Comparisons between daily intensity series for each sound type were done using cross-distance measures based on the response-level functions in both the original form and the first-derivative form. From the results of FDA, the first-derivative form was found to provide a clearer separation when EP data from control groups were compared to the data from SS groups. This is also true when the daily data were compared within the more variable SS-group itself. In addition, at the high-intensity region where SS-action is presumably strong, we also observed characteristic changes in two statistical parameters, mean and skewness, of the cross P-distance representations. Results suggested that FDA is a sensitive approach for EP studies, and it can become a powerful tool for the research in neural science, particularly neuropharmacology. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Integration of Neural Sensing Microsystem with TSV-embedded Dissolvable mu-Needles Array, Biocompatible Flexible Interposer, and Neural Recording Circuits
(2016)
Huang, Yu-Chieh
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Hu, Yu-Chen
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Huang, Po-Tsang
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Wu, Shang-Lin
;
You, Yan-Huei
Local brain connectivity is expected to lead to new models for neurological diseases, which may in turn result in advanced understanding and better treatment. This paper presents a neural sensing microsystem integrated with TSV-embedded dissolvable mu-needles array, ENIG bonding technology, biocompatible Au-TSV flexible interposer and neural recording circuits, for neural sensing implantation. An ultra-thin film bonding approach is proposed for integration of interposer assembly. Removing bonding wire by proposed bonding technology, the dimension of neural sensing system can be minimized to reduce surgical area and promote implant success rate. The signal quality of neural recording can be significantly improved by eliminating complex signal paths with 2.5D TSV integration from neural sensing interface to neural recording circuits.
NeurphologyJ: An automatic neuronal morphology quantification method and its application in pharmacological discovery
(2011-06-08)
Ho, Shinn-Ying
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Chao, Chih-Yuan
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Huang, Hui-Ling
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Chiu, Tzai-Wen
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Charoenkwan, Phasit
Background: Automatic quantification of neuronal morphology from images of fluorescence microscopy plays an increasingly important role in high-content screenings. However, there exist very few freeware tools and methods which provide automatic neuronal morphology quantification for pharmacological discovery. Results: This study proposes an effective quantification method, called NeurphologyJ, capable of automatically quantifying neuronal morphologies such as soma number and size, neurite length, and neurite branching complexity (which is highly related to the numbers of attachment points and ending points). NeurphologyJ is implemented as a plugin to ImageJ, an open-source Java-based image processing and analysis platform. The high performance of NeurphologyJ arises mainly from an elegant image enhancement method. Consequently, some morphology operations of image processing can be efficiently applied. We evaluated NeurphologyJ by comparing it with both the computer-aided manual tracing method NeuronJ and an existing ImageJ-based plugin method NeuriteTracer. Our results reveal that NeurphologyJ is comparable to NeuronJ, that the coefficient correlation between the estimated neurite lengths is as high as 0.992. NeurphologyJ can accurately measure neurite length, soma number, neurite attachment points, and neurite ending points from a single image. Furthermore, the quantification result of nocodazole perturbation is consistent with its known inhibitory effect on neurite outgrowth. We were also able to calculate the IC50 of nocodazole using NeurphologyJ. This reveals that NeurphologyJ is effective enough to be utilized in applications of pharmacological discoveries. Conclusions: This study proposes an automatic and fast neuronal quantification method NeurphologyJ. The ImageJ plugin with supports of batch processing is easily customized for dealing with high-content screening applications. The source codes of NeurphologyJ (interactive and high-throughput versions) and the images used for testing are freely available (see Availability).
Noninvasive neural prostheses using mobile and wireless EEG
(2008-07-01)
Lin, Chin-Teng
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Ko, Li-Wei
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Chiou, Jin-Chern
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Duann, Jeng-Ren
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Huang, Ruey-Song
Neural prosthetic technologies have helped many patients by restoring vision, hearing, or movement and relieving chronic pain or neurological disorders. While most neural prosthetic systems to date have used invasive or implantable devices for patients with inoperative or malfunctioning external body parts or internal organs, a much larger population of "healthy", people who suffer episodic or progressive cognitive impairments in daily life can benefit from noninvasive neural prostheses. For example, reduced alertness, lack of attention, or poor decision-making during monotonous, routine tasks can have catastrophic consequences. This study proposes a noninvasive mobile prosthetic platform for continuously monitoring high-temporal resolution brain dynamics without requiring application of conductive gels on the scalp. The proposed system features dry micro-electromechanical system electroencephalography sensors, low-power signal acquisition, amplification and digitization, wireless telemetry, online artifact cancellation, and signal processing. its implications for neural prostheses are examined in two sample studies: 1) cognitive-state monitoring of participants performing realistic driving tasks in the virtual-reality-based dynamic driving simulator and 2) the neural correlates of motion sickness in driving. The experimental results of these studies provide new insights into the under standing of complex brain functions of participants actively performing ordinary tasks in natural body positions and situations within real operational environments.
Self-adjustments may account for the contradictory correlations between HRV and motion-sickness severity
(2013-01-01)
Lin, Chun-Ling
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Jung, Tzyy-Ping
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Chuang, Shang-Wen
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Duann, Jeng-Ren
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Lin, Chin-Teng
This study investigates the relationship between heart rate variability (HRV) and the level of motion sickness (MS) induced by simulated tunnel driving. The HRV indices, normalized low frequency (NLF, 0.04-0.15 Hz), normalized high frequency (NHF, 0.15-0.4 Hz), and LF/HF ratio were correlated with the subjectively and continuously rated MS levels of 20 participants. The experimental results showed that for 13 of the subjects, the MS levels positively correlated with the NLF and the LF/HF ratio and negatively correlated with the NHF. The remaining seven subjects had negative correlations between the MS levels and the NLF and the LF/HF ratio and a positive correlation between the MS levels and the NHF. To clarify this contradiction, this study also inspected the effects of subjects' self-adjustments on the correlations between the MS levels and the HRV indices and showed that the variations in the relationship might be attributed to the subjects' self-adjustments, which they used to relieve the discomfort of MS. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Serum Iron Concentration, but Not Hemoglobin, Correlates with TIMI Risk Score and 6-Month Left Ventricular Performance after Primary Angioplasty for Acute Myocardial Infarction
(2014-08-06)
Huang, Ching-Hui
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Chang, Chia-Chu
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Kuo, Chen-Ling
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Huang, Ching-Shan
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Chiu, Tzai-Wen
Objective: Anemia is associated with high mortality and poor prognosis after acute coronary syndrome (A(S). Increased red cell distribution width (RDW) is a strong independent predictor for adverse outcomes in ACS. The common underlying mechanism for anemia and increased RDW value is iron deficiency. It is not clear whether serum iron deficiency without anemia affects left ventricular (LV) performance after primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We investigated the prognostic value of serum iron concentration on LV ejection fraction (EF) at 6 months and its relationship to thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) risk score in post MI patients. Methods: We recruited 55 patients who were scheduled to undergo primary coronary balloon angioplasty after AM I and 54 age- and sex-matched volunteers. Serum iron concentration and interleukin-6 levels were measured before primary angioplasty. LVEF was measured by echocardiography at baseline and after 6 months. TIMI risk score was calculated for risk stratification. Results: Serum iron concentration was significantly lower in those in whom LVEF had not improved >= 10% from baseline (52.7 +/- 24.1 versus 80.8 +/- 50.8 mu g/dl, P = 0.016) regardless of hemoglobin level, and was significantly lower in the AMI group than in the control group (62.5 +/- 37.7 versus 103.0 +/- 38.1 mu g/dl, P<0.001). Trend analysis revealed that serum iron concentration decreased as TIMI risk score increased (P = 0.002). In addition, lower serum iron concentrations were associated with higher levels of inflammatory markers. Multiple linear regression showed that baseline serum iron concentration can predict LV systolic function 6 months after primary angioplasty for AMI even after adjusting for traditional prognostic factors. Conclusion: Hypoferremia is not only a marker of inflammation but also a potential prognostic factor for LV systolic function after revascularization therapy for AMI, and may be a novel biomarker for therapeutic intervention.
Serum Iron Concentration, but Not Hemoglobin, Correlates with TIMI Risk Score and 6-Month Left Ventricular Performance after Primary Angioplasty for Acute Myocardial Infarction
(2014-08-06)
Huang, Ching-Hui
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Chang, Chia-Chu
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Kuo, Chen-Ling
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Huang, Ching-Shan
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Chiu, Tzai-Wen
Objective: Anemia is associated with high mortality and poor prognosis after acute coronary syndrome (A(S). Increased red cell distribution width (RDW) is a strong independent predictor for adverse outcomes in ACS. The common underlying mechanism for anemia and increased RDW value is iron deficiency. It is not clear whether serum iron deficiency without anemia affects left ventricular (LV) performance after primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We investigated the prognostic value of serum iron concentration on LV ejection fraction (EF) at 6 months and its relationship to thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) risk score in post MI patients. Methods: We recruited 55 patients who were scheduled to undergo primary coronary balloon angioplasty after AM I and 54 age- and sex-matched volunteers. Serum iron concentration and interleukin-6 levels were measured before primary angioplasty. LVEF was measured by echocardiography at baseline and after 6 months. TIMI risk score was calculated for risk stratification. Results: Serum iron concentration was significantly lower in those in whom LVEF had not improved >= 10% from baseline (52.7 +/- 24.1 versus 80.8 +/- 50.8 mu g/dl, P = 0.016) regardless of hemoglobin level, and was significantly lower in the AMI group than in the control group (62.5 +/- 37.7 versus 103.0 +/- 38.1 mu g/dl, P<0.001). Trend analysis revealed that serum iron concentration decreased as TIMI risk score increased (P = 0.002). In addition, lower serum iron concentrations were associated with higher levels of inflammatory markers. Multiple linear regression showed that baseline serum iron concentration can predict LV systolic function 6 months after primary angioplasty for AMI even after adjusting for traditional prognostic factors. Conclusion: Hypoferremia is not only a marker of inflammation but also a potential prognostic factor for LV systolic function after revascularization therapy for AMI, and may be a novel biomarker for therapeutic intervention.
The effect of fluorescent nanodiamonds on neuronal survival and morphogenesis
(2014-11-05)
Huang, Yung-An
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Kao, Chun-Wei
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Liu, Kuang-Kai
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Huang, Hou-Syun
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Chiang, Ming-Han
Nanodiamond (ND) has emerged as a promising carbon nanomaterial for therapeutic applications. In previous studies, ND has been reported to have outstanding biocompatibility and high uptake rate in various cell types. ND containing nitrogen-vacancy centers exhibit fluorescence property is called fluorescent nanodiamond (FND), and has been applied for bio-labeling agent. However, the influence and application of FND on the nervous system remain elusive. In order to study the compatibility of FND on the nervous system, neurons treated with FNDs in vitro and in vivo were examined. FND did not induce cytotoxicity in primary neurons from either central (CNS) or peripheral nervous system (PNS); neither did intracranial injection of FND affect animal behavior. The neuronal uptake of FNDs was confirmed using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. However, FND caused a concentration-dependent decrease in neurite length in both CNS and PNS neurons. Time-lapse live cell imaging showed that the reduction of neurite length was due to the spatial hindrance of FND on advancing axonal growth cone. These findings demonstrate that FNDs exhibit low neuronal toxicity but interfere with neuronal morphogenesis, and should be taken into consideration when applications involve actively growing neurites (e.g. nerve regeneration).
Tonic and phasic EEG and behavioral changes induced by arousing feedback
(2010-08-15)
Lin, Chin-Teng
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Huang, Kuan-Chih
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Chao, Chih-Feng
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Chen, Jian-Ann
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Chiu, Tzai-Wen
This study investigates brain dynamics and behavioral changes in response to arousing auditory signals presented to individuals experiencing momentary cognitive lapses during a sustained-attention task. Electroencephalographic (EEG) and behavioral data were simultaneously collected during virtual-reality (VR) based driving experiments, in which subjects were instructed to maintain their cruising position and compensate for randomly induced lane deviations using the steering wheel. 30-channel EEG data were analyzed by independent component analysis and the short-time Fourier transform. Across subjects and sessions, intermittent performance during drowsiness was accompanied by characteristic spectral augmentation or suppression in the alpha- and theta-band spectra of a bilateral occipital component, corresponding to brief periods of normal (wakeful) and hypnagogic (sleeping) awareness and behavior. Arousing auditory feedback was delivered to the subjects in half of the non-responded lane-deviation events, which immediately agitated subject's responses to the events. The improved behavioral performance was accompanied by concurrent spectral suppression in the theta- and alpha-bands of the bilateral occipital component. The effects of auditory feedback on spectral changes lasted 30 s or longer. The results of this study demonstrate the amount of cognitive state information that can be extracted from noninvasively recorded EEG data and the feasibility of online assessment and rectification of brain networks exhibiting characteristic dynamic patterns in response to momentary cognitive challenges. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Ultrahigh-Density 256-Channel Neural Sensing Microsystem Using TSV-Embedded Neural Probes
(2017-10-01)
Huang, Yu-Chieh
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Huang, Po-Tsang
;
Wu, Shang-Lin
;
Hu, Yu-Chen
;
You, Yan-Huei
Highly integrated neural sensing microsystems are crucial to capture accurate signals for brain function investigations. In this paper, a 256-channel neural sensing microsystem with a sensing area of 5 x 5 mm(2) is presented based on 2.5-D through-silicon-via (TSV) integration. This microsystem composes of dissolvable mu-needles, TSV-embedded mu-probes, 256-channel neural amplifiers, 11-bit area-power-efficient successive approximation register analog-to-digital converters, and serializers. This microsystem can detect 256 electrocorticography and local field potential signals within a small area of 5 mm x 5 mm. The neural amplifier realizes 57.8 dB gain with only 9.8 mu W per channel. The overall power of this microsystem is only 3.79mW for 256-channel neural sensing. A smaller microsystem with dimension of 6 mm x 4 mm has been also implanted into rat brain for somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) recording by using contralateral and ipsilateral electrical stimuli with intensity from 0.2 to 1.0 mA, and successfully observed different SSEPs from left somatosensory cortex of a rat.
Utilization of carbon dioxide in industrial flue gases for the cultivation of microalga Chlorella sp.
(2014-08-01)
Kao, Chien-Ya
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Chen, Tsai-Yu
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Chang, Yu-Bin
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Chiu, Tzai-Wen
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Lin, Hsiun-Yu
The biomass and lipid productivity of Chlorella sp. MTF-15 cultivated using aeration with flue gases from a coke oven, hot stove or power plant in a steel plant of the China Steel Corporation in Taiwan were investigated. Using the flue gas from the coke oven, hot stove or power plant for cultivation, the microalgal strain obtained a maximum specific growth rate and lipid production of (0.827 d(-1), 0.688 g L-1), (0.762 d(-1), 0.961 g L-1), and (0.728 d(-1), 0.792 g L-1), respectively. This study demonstrated that Chlorella sp. MTF-15 could efficiently utilize the CO2, NOX and SO2 present in the different flue gases. The results also showed that the growth potential, lipid production and fatty acid composition of the microalgal strain were dependent on the composition of the flue gas and on the operating strategy deployed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.