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Research: Controlling brain activity with a bluetooth Implant & smartphone

Research: Controlling brain activity with a bluetooth Implant & smartphone

A research team from the United States and Korea has recently created a small brain implant that is controlled by a smartphone and can manipulate neural circuits. This innovative solution has the potential to facilitate efforts in uncovering various brain diseases, including depression, addiction, pain, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. A paper regarding this work, conducted by researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the University of Washington in Seattle, was published on August 5 in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

This Bluetooth-enabled device uses replaceable plug-like drug cartridges to target neurons with drugs and light. The chemical and optical neuromodulation that this wireless device is capable of “has never been achieved before,” according to lead author Raza Qazi, researcher from KAIST and University of Colorado Boulder.

Qazi feels this creation trumps existing methods used by neuroscientists to deliver drugs and light to the brain, which involves metal tubes and optical fibers. These tools are rigid and can damage the brain’s soft tissue over time. In addition, this equipment limits the patient’s movement because of the physical, wired connections, making them unsuitable for long-term use.

Researchers have attempted to make this system less damaging to brain tissue by using soft probes and wireless systems, but these prototypes have failed to deliver drugs for a long period of time and require complex control setups.

Smartphone-Controlled Drug Delivery
To create their smartphone-enabled solution, the researchers had to address the fact that the implant’s drug supply would not last forever. The research team dealt with this by creating a neural device with a replaceable cartridge that contains the drug. In doing so, they enabled neurologists to study the same brain networks for several months without depleting the drug supply.

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