Tiny Chips Ride Immune Cells to Fight Inflammation
▼ Summary
– Standard brain implants require surgical electrode insertion into gray matter to interact with neurons.
– Researchers developed microscopic electronic-cell hybrids injectable via syringe that self-implant in target brain areas.
– The team faced 35 consecutive grant rejections due to the project being perceived as impossible science fiction.
– After six years of research, the technology earned the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award with the highest impact score.
– The innovation solved key problems by creating subcellular electronics that generate power and compute, unlike magnetic particles.
Imagine a future where treating brain inflammation doesn’t require invasive surgery. Instead, microscopic electronic devices, smaller than living cells, could be injected into the bloodstream to travel directly to affected areas. This groundbreaking approach, developed by a research team at MIT led by electrical engineer and assistant professor Deblina Sarkar, combines electronics with biological cells to create hybrid implants that navigate the body naturally.
The journey to this discovery was anything but straightforward. Sarkar recalls facing thirty-five consecutive grant rejections during the first two years at MIT. Reviewers consistently described the concept as impactful yet impossible, comparing it to science fiction. Undeterred, her team persisted through more than six years of research to achieve what many considered unattainable.
By 2022, initial data and promising results with their cell-electronics hybrids finally gained recognition. The project earned the National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award, receiving the highest impact score in the program’s history. This success stemmed from overcoming three major challenges that had stymied previous efforts.
The primary hurdle involved creating functional electronic devices tiny enough to circulate within blood vessels without causing blockages. Earlier attempts used magnetic particles guided by external magnetic fields, but these had limited success. Electronics fabricated with CMOS technology, the same process used for computer processors, offer capabilities far beyond simple particles. They can harness light to generate electrical power, similar to solar cells, and perform complex computations for advanced sensing applications. Magnetic particles, by contrast, provide only basic stimulation without the intelligence required for precise medical interventions.
(Source: Ars Technica)
