Microscopic wireless electronics that self-navigate to diseased brain tissue could eliminate the need for surgery when treating tumors and neurological conditions. Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers demonstrated the technology in mice, showing how tiny devices injected into the bloodstream can autonomously locate target regions and deliver electrical stimulation without human guidance.
These implants are fused with immune cells before injection, allowing them to slip past the body’s defenses and cross the blood-brain barrier intact. Each device measures roughly one-billionth of a rice grain’s length, built from layered organic semiconducting polymers positioned between metallic components to create an electronic structure.
Scientists integrated these electronics with monocytes, immune cells that naturally migrate toward inflammation sites throughout the body. Fluorescent dye tracking confirmed the hybrid constructs crossed the intact blood-brain barrier and positioned themselves in targeted regions. With the biological cells essentially camouflaging the electronics, they are protected from immune system attacks as they travel through the bloodstream and into the brain.
Biocompatibility testing showed that the miniature implants can safely blend among neurons without disrupting thinking or movement processes after crossing the blood-brain barrier. Once they are positioned, the diminutive devices receive wireless power to deliver precise electrical stimulation within several microns of the target area.
The team demonstrated this capability addressing neural inflammation in mice, showing that the technology has the potential to handle a factor that plays a critical role in neurological condition progression.
This novel approach could democratize access to brain-related treatments by removing operating room procedures entirely from treatment requirements and minimize the risks associated with surgical approaches. In addition to costing several hundred thousand dollars in medical expenses, standard brain implants also carry significant surgical risks for patients. Aggressive brain cancers like glioblastoma are a prime target for this new procedure since they cause tumors at multiple locations that are often too small for current imaging detection capabilities.
Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma also presents another candidate application since these brainstem tumors usually cannot be surgically removed due to their location in critical structures. Autonomous navigation and compact dimensions make the implants well-suited for targeting distributed or inaccessible disease sites where conventional treatments consistently fail to reach effectively.
Beyond immediate medical applications, the platform could extend to treating various neurological and psychiatric conditions, corresponding author, MIT Center for Neurobiological Engineering, associate professor, and Nano-Cybernetic Biotrek Lab head Deblina Sarkar says.
There is also potential for expansion into other regions of the body in future iterations and developments. The team plans human testing within three years through their new commercial venture, Cahira Technologies.
Additional nanoelectronic circuits under development would enable sensing capabilities, feedback-based data analysis performed on-chip, and even the creation of synthetic electronic neurons that could replace damaged biological ones. The devices would coexist alongside neurons, offering new treatment pathways for neural conditions where pharmaceuticals or standard therapies aren’t effective.
As the researchers take these new implants through the clinical study process, companies like CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) are also making notable progress in their efforts to develop new medicines that will deliver the needed clinical outcomes to brain cancer patients who aren’t responding to the existing therapies.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSP
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