Cell-Electronic Hybrid Chips Could Enable Surgery-Free Brain Implants
Microscopic wireless electronic devices can now travel on immune cells to reach the brain, opening new therapeutic possibilities for brain cancers and neurodegenerative diseases.
Brain implants offer valuable insights into the nervous system and can alleviate symptoms of brain disorders. However, implanting devices usually involves surgery, which carries risks such as tissue damage and infection. Some methods deliver implants via blood vessels to the brain's outer regions, but these cannot access deeper areas that are crucial for treating persistent brain conditions.
Innovative Implant Design by MIT Researchers
To tackle this challenge, a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, led by bioengineer Deblina Sarkar, developed an implant with a minimal footprint and enhanced effectiveness. Their findings, published in Nature Biotechnology, reveal a groundbreaking design that attaches tiny electronic devices to circulating immune cells.
Wireless Electronic-Cell Hybrids
The team created wireless, light-powered electronic-cell hybrids with a diameter of just 10 micrometers—smaller than a droplet of mist. These devices are capable of migrating to inflamed regions in the mouse brain and stimulating brain tissue with micrometer-level accuracy.
"We present the first in a new field of 'circulatronic' devices," Sarkar and colleagues stated.
This "circulatronic" approach represents a novel direction for brain implants with the potential to bypass invasive surgeries.
Summary
By combining subcellular electronics with immune cells, this research offers a minimally invasive way to implant devices deep in the brain, potentially revolutionizing treatment for brain diseases.
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