New generation of implantable devices could deliver drugs into body on demand

A new generation of implantable devices could deliver drugs into the body and diagnose diseases more quickly.

An international team of researchers led by the University of Glasgow have created a new type of ultra-small antenna which can wirelessly transmit data through tissue to external devices.

The prototypes, which they call µBots (pronounced ‘microbots’), are smaller, lighter, less power-hungry and produce less heat than many current implantable devices, which often rely on a radio-frequency antenna to carry data.

Those devices tend to be bulky and generate significant heat, making them difficult to use comfortably as long-term implants and increasing the risk of infection at the implant site.

The microbots, less than a millimetre wide, combine acoustic and electromagnetic physics to create magnetoelectric antennas which are smaller, cooler, and capable of carrying a much richer stream of data across a wide bandwidth.

They could help diagnose neurodegenerative diseases earlier, deliver drugs on demand or deliver neuromodulation treatments to treat conditions like epilepsy or Parkinson’s disease.

The team created the microbots at the University of Glasgow’s James Watt Nanofabrication Centre and tested their performance in the presence of biological tissues.

Dr Mahdieh Shojaei Baghini of the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering is the paper’s first and corresponding author and the creator of these devices.

She said: “Implantable wireless devices, which can be fully enclosed inside the body instead of being tethered to external devices, offer a great deal of potential for providing round-the-clock health monitoring for a wide range of conditions.

“The microbots we’re developing harness the potential of acoustic resonance to address many of the issues which have held back the technology to date. We’ve shown that they are capable of transmitting a great deal of data in a way that can easily be received by existing transceiver technology.”

Dr Adam Armada-Moreira of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia is one of the corresponding authors of the paper. He said: “This technology could let researchers and clinicians map and modulate neural circuits with higher special selectivity while stable telemetry supports chronic electrophysiology and neuromodulation studies.”

Professor Hadi Heidari leads the University of Glasgow’s Microelectronics Lab and is one of the paper’s corresponding authors.

He said: “These are significant results, which build on previous research here at Glasgow and from our partners across Europe to demonstrate the significant potential for µBots to deliver transformative results for clinicians and for patients alike.

“We’ll continue to explore the potential of these devices as we look to test them in further trials and work towards commercialising the underlying technology in the years to come.”

Researchers from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, the International School of Advanced Studies, the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, the University of Rome, Harvard Medical School and the National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology contributed to the research and co-authored the paper.