A small skull implant has made Rice’s lab a leader in neurotechnology research. Rice University engineers have developed the smallest implantable brain stimulator ever demonstrated on a patient. Motif Neurotech in Jacob Robinson’s Rice laboratory and clinicians Dr. Samir Sheth and Dr. Developed in collaboration with Sunil Sheth, the pea-sized device, which uses the latest magnetoelectric energy transfer technology, can be operated wirelessly via an external transmitter and used to stimulate. It is transmitted to the brain through the dura mater, a protective shell attached to the underside of the skull.

The device, known as a digitally programmable On-Brain Therapeutic (DOT), could revolutionize the treatment of drug-resistant depression and other psychiatric or neurological disorders by providing a therapeutic alternative that provides greater patient autonomy and accessibility than current neurostimulation-based treatments. It is less invasive than other brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).

Technological achievements and research results

“In this paper, we show that our pea-sized device can activate the motor cortex, which causes the patient to move his hand,” said Robinson, a professor of electrical engineering, computer engineering and bioengineering at Rice. “In the future, we may place the implant in other parts of the brain, such as the prefrontal cortex, where we hope to improve executive functions in people with depression or other disorders.”

Current implantable technologies for brain stimulation are powered by relatively large batteries that must be placed under the skin somewhere on the body and connected to a stimulation device via long cables. Such design limitations require more surgery and expose the individual to a greater burden of hardware implantation, risk of cable breakage or malfunction, and the need for battery replacement surgeries in the future.

“We eliminated the need for batteries by powering the device wirelessly with an external transmitter,” said Joshua Woods, an electrical engineering graduate student in Robinson’s lab and lead author of the study. Science Developments . Amanda Singer, a former graduate student in Rice’s applied physics program who now works at Motif Neurotech, is also the lead author.

The technology is based on a material that converts magnetic fields into electrical pulses. This conversion process is highly efficient on a small scale and has good shear resistance; This means it does not require complex or very short maneuvers to activate and control. The device is 9 millimeters wide and can provide 14.5 volts of stimulation.

“Our implant gets all its energy from this magnetoelectric effect,” said Robinson, founder and CEO of Motif, a startup created through the Rice Biotech Launch Pad that is working to bring the device to market.

Motif is one of several neurotechnology companies exploring the potential of BCI to revolutionize the treatment of neurological disorders.

“Neurostimulation is an important therapy in mental health where the side effects and ineffectiveness of medication leave many people without appropriate treatment options,” Robinson said.

Clinical trials and future directions

The researchers temporarily tested the device on a human; He used the device to stimulate the motor cortex, the part of the brain responsible for movement, and create a response to arm movement. They then showed that the device interacted stably with the pig’s brain for 30 days.

“This has not been done before because the quality and strength of the signal required to stimulate the brain through the dura mater has not been possible before with wireless power delivery for such small implants,” Woods said.

Robinson dreams of using technology without leaving home. The doctor will prescribe the treatment and give instructions on how to use the device, but patients will have full control over how the treatment is administered.

“Back home, the patient would wear a hat or wearable device to power and communicate with the implant, press start on their iPhone or smartwatch, and then the electrical stimulation from that implant would activate a neural network within the brain,” Robinson said. said.

Implantation will require a minimally invasive 30-minute procedure that places the device into the bone above the brain. Both the implant and the incision will be almost invisible and the patient will return home the same day.

“When you think about the pacemaker, it’s a very common part of heart care,” said Sheth, professor and chair of research and the McNair Investigator and Cullen Foundation Chair in Neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine. “The equivalent for neurological and psychiatric disorders is deep brain stimulation (DBS), which sounds scary and invasive. DBS is actually a fairly safe procedure, but it’s still brain surgery, and its perceived risk will limit the number of people who want to have it and who can benefit from it.” This is where it comes to the rescue. The small 30-minute procedure, slightly longer than a skin incision, performed in an outpatient surgery center is more likely to be tolerated than DBS. So if we can show that it is as effective as more invasive alternatives, this therapy has a much greater impact on mental health. likely to have an impact.”

For some disorders, such as epilepsy, the device may be on all or most of the time, but for disorders such as depression and OCD, just a few minutes of stimulation per day may be enough to achieve the desired changes. In the functioning of the target neural network.

As for next steps, Robinson said that from a research perspective, he’s “really interested in the idea of ​​creating implants and networks of implants that can stimulate and record so that they can provide adaptive, personalized therapy based on your own brain.” signatures”. In terms of therapeutic development, Motif Neurotech is in the process of obtaining FDA approval for long-term human clinical trials. Patients and caregivers can sign up on the Motif Neurotech website to learn when and where these trials will begin.