New optogenetics approach may offer better muscle control with less fatigue

May 23 2024Massachusetts Institute of Technology However, despite many years of research, this type of prosthesis is not widely used because it leads to rapid muscle fatigue and poor control.

Optogenetics is a method based on genetically engineering cells to express light-sensitive proteins, which allows researchers to control activity of those cells by exposing them to light. This approach is currently not feasible in humans, but Herr, MIT graduate student Guillermo Herrera-Arcos, and their colleagues at the K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics are now working on ways to deliver light-sensitive proteins safely and effectively into human tissue.

This large force not only makes it harder to achieve fine muscle control, it also wears out the muscle quickly, within five or 10 minutes. "As we change the optical stimulation that we deliver to the nerve, we can proportionally, in an almost linear way, control the force of the muscle. This is similar to how the signals from our brain control our muscles. Because of this, it becomes easier to control the muscle compared with electrical stimulation," Herrera-Arcos says.

Brain Fatigue Immune Response Muscle Nerve Optogenetics Paralysis Research

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