Engineers in US create tiny implantable sensor to monitor body

Engineers in the US have created tiny implantable sensors that could be used to internally monitor the body without the need for wires.

The devices, created by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, could potentially treat disorders including epilepsy or bladder control and control prosthetics in the future.

The sensors, which are of 1 mm size are named neural dust and might be used to monitor organs in real-time, as also be used to stimulate nerves and muscles.

Ultrasound would be used to both power the device and read out the measurements.

"I think the long-term prospects for neural dust are not only within nerves and the brain, but much broader," said Michel Maharbiz, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences and one of the study's two main authors in the journal Neuron.

"Having access to in-body telemetry has never been possible because there has been no way to put something supertiny superdeep. But now I can take a speck of nothing and park it next to a nerve or organ, your GI tract or a muscle, and read out the data."

The team at Berkeley successfully conducted trials on the sensors and implanted them in the muscles and peripheral nerves of rats.

According to the scientists, the tiny sensors, or "motes", could improve brain-control of robotic devices like prosthetic arms or legs, avoiding wires that go through the skull.

According to commentators, the sensors could also be used to stimulate nerves and muscles, to create ''electroceuticals'' to treat disorders such as epilepsy or to stimulate the immune system or tamp down inflammation.

"I think the long-term prospects for neural dust are not only within nerves and the brain, but much broader," said one of the study's two main authors.