Wireless Implant
Soft implant with wireless charging controls brain cells
Tatiana Matveeva, "Scientific Russia"
A group of researchers from the Korea Institute of Advanced Technology (Republic of Korea, KAIST) has designed a tiny brain implant that can be charged wirelessly and can be controlled remotely using a smartphone. The device monitors neural circuits for a long time without replacing the battery, the press service of KAIST reports.
A detailed description of the development appeared in the journal Nature Communications (Kim et al., Soft subdermal implant capable of wireless battery charging and programmable controls for applications in optogenetics).
Imlpant is made of super-soft and biocompatible polymers that take root well to tissues. Equipped with micrometer-sized LEDs (the size of a grain of salt) mounted on ultrathin sensors (as thick as a human hair), it can wirelessly control target neurons in the deep layers of the brain using light.
The new wireless charging technology eliminates the limitations of existing brain implants. When earlier versions of wireless implants run out of battery, it is necessary to perform an operation to replace the battery. The new implant is charged remotely.
To provide wireless battery charging and control, the researchers developed a tiny circuit that combines a wireless "harvester" for energy harvesting with a spiral antenna and a Bluetooth chip with low power consumption. The alternating magnetic field can safely penetrate through the tissues and generate electricity inside the device to charge the battery. The implant then delivers programmable light samples to brain cells via Bluetooth. And you can manage this process using a mobile application.
"This device can be used anywhere and anytime to control neural circuits, which makes it a very versatile tool for studying brain functions," said lead author of the study Chung Yong Kim, a researcher at KAIST.
Neurologists have successfully tested these implants on rats. The devices were able to suppress cocaine-induced behavior after the rats were injected with cocaine. The light stimulated the work of the corresponding target neurons in the brains of animals using LEDs controlled by a smartphone. In addition, the battery in the implants could be repeatedly recharged – even when the rats moved freely – which helped not to interrupt the experiment.
Researchers believe that brain implantation technology may open up new opportunities for brain research and therapeutic intervention for the treatment of diseases of the brain and other organs.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru