MIT’s Ultrasound Breakthrough: A New Era in Non-Invasive Brain Healing

’s implantable ImPULS device could become an alternative to the electrodes now used to treat Parkinson’s and other diseases.

MIT researchers have now developed an alternative approach that uses ultrasound instead of electricity to perform deep brain stimulation, delivered by a fiber about the thickness of a human hair. In a study of mice, they showed that this stimulation can trigger neurons to release dopamine, in a part of the brain that is often targeted in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Deep brain stimulation with electrical impulses is FDA-approved to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. This approach uses millimeter-thick electrodes to activate dopamine-producing cells in a brain region called the substantia nigra. However, once implanted in the brain, the devices eventually begin to corrode, and scar tissue that builds up surrounding the implant can interfere with the electrical impulses.

“It’s tissue-safe, there’s no exposed electrode surface, and it’s very low-power, which bodes well for translation to patient use,” Hou says.In tests in mice, the researchers showed that this ultrasound device, which they call ImPULS , can provoke activity in neurons of the hippocampus. Then, they implanted the fibers into the dopamine-producing substantia nigra and showed that they could stimulate neurons in the dorsal striatum to produce dopamine.

The researchers developed a microfabrication process that enables them to easily alter the length and thickness of the fiber, as well as the frequency of the sound waves produced by the piezoelectric transducer. This could allow the devices to be customized for different brain regions.

Source: Tech Daily Report (techdailyreport.net)

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