This is a tiny, biodegradable monitor that gives information about fluids flow, motion, pH or thermal characteristics inside the skull. This kind of improvement in science is still in its early steps (successful rat’s experiments) but it could mean a great advance for the treatment of traumatic brain injuries and basically every other area.

This wireless device could be an advance for patients that require a numerous amount of procedures that can expose them to bacterias or other consequences involving them. If this Bioresorbable silicon electronic sensor is a success, the odds of contracting a bacteria or having a complication during surgery will diminish.

Brain-Monitor
Scientists from the University of Illinois and Washington University School of Medicine, are developing a brain monitor that dissolves inside the body when patients don’t need it anymore. Credit: CNN

“The ultimate strategy is to have a device that is entirely implanted, intimately connected with the organ you want to monitor and can transmit signals wirelessly, allowing doctors to intervene if necessary to prevent bigger problems,” said Washington University neurosurgeon Dr. Rory Murphy in a statement. “After the critical period that you actually want to monitor, it will dissolve away and disappear.”

This melting-product is possible thanks to the natural materials of the sensor that eliminate themselves. Meaning, when the sensor is no longer needed it could just be absorbed by the body without needing any extra surgeries.

The materials used are usually made from collagen, like silk, hair or processed animal intestines. Those same materials are already used in stitches. The body identify the foreign materials, so they are attacked and broken down by the immune system in the same period as healing occurs.

The sensor is being developed by scientists at the University of Illinois and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and may also be built into similar monitors that can be used for other organs.

Further study is needed for the use of this sensor in humans. There is no guarantee that this creation will work in people the same way as it does in rats, but researchers are optimistic and are planning to take their implants to human territory.

Source: Nature