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Scientists have created a
tiny biodegradable implant (silver) that can send electrical impulses to help
repair damaged nerves, then disappears in the body
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Scientist have created a tiny device that can
repair nerves and then deteriorate inside the body, making it the first
'bioelectronic' medicine.
There is a lot of hype around using technology to
better our health through apps, wearables and even pills that keep track of
when you took them. Now, the researchers at Northwestern University have
come up with a recipe to build electronic treatment devices out of materials
that dissolve in the body - and most of them are part of our daily diet.
So far, they have successfully used their first
device to treat damaged nerves in rats, but someday this tiny electronics could
help keep hearts beating in time.
We use all kinds of electronics to treat health
conditions and injuries, but often they have to be surgically implanted, so
when they malfunction or their batteries die, patients have to go back under
the knife. Many materials are safe for use in the body, but they
change and break down the way our own tissues do. But that may be
changing.
The new disc-shaped wireless device is about the
size of nickel, stimulates peripheral nerves with weak electric shocks. More
importantly it is made of entirely of biodegradable materials. That means
that when a nerve is healed, the body's fluids naturally break it down and it
exits like any other waste would.
That's because, even though it is a remote
controlled semiconductor, the device is essentially made of substances that are
part of our daily diet. In order to pulse the nerves, scientists needed to
create a structure with conductors through which electric impulses can travel,
insulation around them, and a semiconductor to be the brains of the
operation.
●Scientists have created a tiny
biodegradable nerve stimulator ●The nickel-sized device is made
of silicone, magnesium, and a similar polymer to the material dissolvable
stitches are made from ●It successfully repaired nerves
in injured rats ●Researchers at Northwestern
University and the University of Washington think the materials could be
used to make many kinds of disappearing devices
'A semiconductor is critical because it is the
foundation of all electronic gadgetry,' study co-author, Dr John Roberts of
Northwestern University told Daily Mail Online.
'Silicon itself is the workhorse material of the
electronics industry ... and it is actually a recommended part of a daily diet.
So we used exceptionally thin, small pieces of it. They themselves naturally
dissolve when they come into contact with biofluds.'
To conduct the electrical signals, the research
team used super thin magnesium, a substance that is also one of our dietary
nutrients. For insulation, Dr Roberts and his collaborators at
Northwestern and the University of Washington used similar biodegradable
'plastics' to those used in dissolvable stitches, but he says that cellulose or
silk could easily work too.
In tests on injured rats, it quickened the
regrowth of nerves in the legs leading to the recovery of muscle
strength. After about two weeks the device dissolves on its own. It
can even be broken up in second between fingers, turning to shimmery flakes,
then disappearing entirely.
Scientists believe it could help thousands of
people affected by numbness, tingling and weakness caused by sports injuries,
accidents, or even too much typing or texting.
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About the size of a
nickel, the new device is made of such delicate materials that it dissolves
when rubbed between the fingers
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Dr Wilson Ray, who co-led the research at the
University of Washington, US, said: 'We know that electrical stimulation during
surgery helps, but once the surgery is over, the window for intervening is
closed. With this device, we've shown that electrical stimulation given on
a scheduled basis can further enhance nerve recovery."
Unlike their counterparts in the brain and spinal
cord, peripheral nerves running through the arms, legs and torso can regenerate
after injury. Electrical stimulation triggers the release of
growth-promoting proteins that help the neurons regrow faster and more
completely. Most people with peripheral nerve damage are
offered painkillers, physical therapy, and in extreme cases, surgery.
The new device, described in the journal Nature
Medicine, is powered wirelessly by a transmitter outside the body.
'These platforms represent the first examples of
a "bioelectronic medicine" - engineered systems that provide active,
therapeutic function in a programmable, dosed format and then naturally
disappear into the body, without a trace,' said Dr Roberts.
He says that he and his team are already in talks
with cardiologists about how the device could be applied to temporarily pace
the heart during open heart surgeries. And there's no reason to believe
that the same materials his team engineered couldn't be refashioned into all
manner of devices. 'We're excited not only
about the ability of this specific device but more broadly as concept going
forward that could be used for an improvement in the way that we treat disease
and injury,' he said.
Originally published on DAILY MAIL HEALTH
