Rice University neuroengineers have created a tiny surgical implant that can electrically stimulate the brain and nervous system without using a battery or wired power supply.
Rice University neuroengineers have created a tiny surgical implant that can electrically stimulate the brain and nervous system without using a battery or wired power supply.
The neural stimulator draws its power from magnetic energy and is about the size of a grain of rice. It is the first magnetically powered neural stimulator that produces the same kind of high-frequency signals as clinically approved, battery-powered implants that are used to treat epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, chronic pain and other conditions.
The research is available online today in the journal Neuron.
The implant’s key ingredient is a thin film of “magnetoelectric” material that converts magnetic energy directly into an electrical voltage. The method avoids the drawbacks of radio waves, ultrasound, light and even magnetic coils, all of which have been proposed for powering tiny wireless implants and have been shown to suffer from interference with living tissue or produce harmful amounts of heat.
To demonstrate the viability of the magnetoelectric technology, the researchers showed the implants worked in rodents that were fully awake and free to roam about their enclosures.
Read more at Rice University
Photo: A sample of Rice University’s “magnetoelectric” film atop a bed of uncooked rice. Rice neuroengineers created the bi-layered film to power implantable neural stimulators that are approximately the size of a grain of rice. The film converts energy from a magnetic field directly into an electrical voltage, eliminating the need for a battery or wired power connection. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
