Scientists have made a new kind of special tech called a neural implant. It can help people who lost the use of their arms or legs to move them again.
A study has been done on rats and researchers from Cambridge University used this device to create a better connection between the brain and paralyzed limbs. The tech uses bendy electronics and master cells, which come from humans, to link up with nerve signals which allows movement in the limbs.
Previous trials of using brain implants to restore lost body movement have usually ended in failure because the electrodes form scar tissue around them which gets in the way of the connection between the implant and your nerves. But scientists found that by putting a layer of specialized stem cell- grow muscle cells between the electrodes and living tissue, it stopped the formation of scar tissue and made sure that our body accepted the device. These cells stayed on the electrodes for 28 days, which was longer than ever before.
Scientists have come up with a new technology which combines two ways to help nerves heal faster – cell therapy and bioelectronics. By combining these two methods in one device, it will help people with nerve problems get more sensitivity and better results.
Scientists have created a device that could help people with missing limbs or arms. The invention was reported on March 22, 2023 in Science Advances.
The problem is that when a limb got injured and lost function, your neurons can not fix it themselves. This new device could potentially bypass this issue to help people recover from such injuries!
Dr. Damiano Barone from Cambridge’s Department of Clinical Neurosciences says that even when someone has their arm or leg removed, the signals in their nervous system are still there. The tricky part is understanding how to use all those signals so that we can restore function and control prosthetic limbs.
To address the issue, docs can implant a nerve in the shoulder’s large muscles and connect electrodes to it. But this method also has its downsides like forming of scar tissue around the electrode, plus we can only get information from close to the surface with it.
To make the implant work better, researchers need to get more information from electrodes. To make it even more accurate, they want to create something that will work at the level of just a single nerve fibre or axon.
“A tiny voltage runs through each axon,” said Barone. “However, when an axon is connected to a muscle cell, which has way more electricity in it, the signal from the muscle cell can be received much easier. That’s how the sensitivity of the implant increases!”
Researchers have designed a special and flexible electronic device which is thin enough to attach it to the end of a nerve. On this electrode, they placed a layer of stem cells that were changed into muscle cells. This is the first time that researchers have used these special stem cells, called “induced pluripotent stem cells”, with an actual living organism.
Barone said that with the use of cells, we now have more control over experiments. The cells work by acting like a barrier between the electronic device and our body, preventing the body from seeing the electrodes which could potentially cause scar tissue.
Scientists implanted a type of machine into the arm of some rats who were paralyzed. The machine had stem cells that were changed into change muscles before being implanted. The device connected to the rat’s nerves and was able to pick up signals in their brain that should make them move but they could not actually move their arms. If this device was attached to the rest of their nervous system or an artificial limb, then it would be possible to restore movement.
The cell layer made the device better by making the pictures and video more clear and it was even able to observe living inside a creature for a long period. Scientists tested this out for 28 days and it worked- no cells died during this time which means this kind of experiment can be done again in the future.
Researchers have come up with a new way to restore function in amputees. It is much easier to implement, more stable over time and only requires small cuts if implanted in the body. Other technologies require complicated steps that need to be done separately for each patient while this one only needs “off the shelf” cells, which makes it simpler to use.
Researchers say their device could be used to help people who are unable to use some of their limbs. It can also help control prosthetic limbs by connecting with certain nerve fibers responsible for movement control.
Amy Rochford from the Department of Engineering said that a new technology could completely change how we interact with things. It combines living cells and electrical materials so it’s like a bridge between people and machines. This can be helpful for prosthetics, mind-machine connections, or even make everyday activities easier!
“Scientists from the Department of Engineering have developed a new way to create neural implants which could be used to help people who need medical treatment,” said Alejandro Carnicer-Lombarte, one of the authors. It’s exciting because this technology might give us new ways to help sick people.
Professor George Malliaras from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering is thrilled that his high-risk experiment worked well! He didn’t know it would take two or ten years to make it work, but it eventually succeeded. “I’m so happy,” he said.
The researchers are trying to make their devices more efficient by making them bigger and better. They asked Cambridge Enterprise, which helps people get patents for their inventions, to help them protect this technology.
Scientists used a special technology called opti-ox for their experiment. This technology helps cell lines, which were given by the Kotter lab from the University of Cambridge, to carry out genetic programs accurately and can be manufactured in huge amounts. opti-ox is owned and managed by bit.bio, a company that focuses on synthetic biology.
Scientists, Amy E. Rochford and her colleagues, have just published a paper about their research on restoring amputated peripheral nerves through biohybrid regenerative bioelectronics. This paper was published in the journal Science Advances, on March 22nd, 2023 and is available online by its DOI number: 10.1126/sciadv.add8162.
This research was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Wellcome, and Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program.
