Tag: implant

ScienceDaily (June 17, 2011) A brain implant developed at the University of Michigan uses the body's skin like a conductor to wirelessly transmit the brain's neural signals to control a computer, and may eventually be used to reactivate paralyzed limbs.

The implant is called the BioBolt, and unlike other neural interface technologies that establish a connection from the brain to an external device such as a computer, it's minimally invasive and low power, said principal investigator Euisik Yoon, a professor in the U-M College of Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

A novel optical device could ultimately be used to treat neurological disease.

Researchers at Medtronic are developing a prototype neural implant that uses light to alter the behavior of neurons in the brain. The device is based on the emerging science of optogenetic neuromodulation, in which specific brain cells are genetically engineered to respond to light. Medtronic, the world's largest manufacturer of biomedical technologies, aims to use the device to better understand how electrical therapies, currently used to treat Parkinson's and other disorders, assuage symptoms of these diseases. Medtronic scientists say they will use the findings to improve the electrical stimulators the company already sells, but others ultimately hope to use optical therapies directly as treatments.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 26, 2010) A paralyzed patient implanted with a brain-computer interface device has allowed scientists to determine the relationship between brain waves and attention.

Characteristic activity patterns known as beta and delta oscillations have been observed in various regions of the brain since the early 20th century, and have been theoretically associated with attention. The unique opportunity to record directly from a human subject's motor cortex allowed University of Chicago researchers to investigate this relationship more thoroughly than ever before.

A polymer disc shrinks tumors in rodents by eliciting an immune attack.

In a new approach to fighting cancer, scientists from Harvard University have engineered an implantable disc designed to attract immune cells and prep them to attack tumors. Mice with melanoma tumors were much more likely to survive if they'd been implanted with the device, and tumors disappeared in up to half of the vaccinated animals, according to research published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Researchers believe that the implant elicits a broader immune response than traditional vaccines, and may therefore prove more effective. A startup called InCytu, based in Lincoln, RI, is now developing the technology for human testing.

Scientists say they have a working prototype of a fully artificial heart ready for implanting in humans.

The device beats almost exactly like the real thing using electronic sensors to regulate heart rate and blood flow.