[Science Saw] – Scientists have built a biodegradable implantable chip that could potentially power medical tools.
Highlights:
- Scientists have created a wireless charging chip for implantation under the skin, potentially changing how medical devices are powered.
- Tested in rats, this chip promises a safer, more reliable power source for medical implants.
- Traditional bio-electronic devices with bulky batteries face limitations, but the wireless chip eliminates this issue, enhancing device efficiency.
- This flexible and biodegradable chip molds to tissue shapes, ensuring long-term implant sustainability without harm.
- With a magnesium coil, the chip wirelessly charges and can harness energy from the body, powering devices and delivering medicine.
- Ways to know that an implantable chip is safe
Imagine a world where medical devices could power themselves without clunky batteries or risky external wiring.
Scientists have created something groundbreaking—a wireless charging chip that could be implanted under the skin, potentially revolutionizing medical treatments.
This chip, currently tested in rats might be the key to enhancing medical implants by providing a more reliable, safer and more convenient power source.
The problem with many bioelectronic devices like sensors or drug delivery systems is their reliance on batteries, which have limitations in size and capacity.
Additionally, connecting these devices to external power sources can lead to infection risks, especially if it requires frequent surgeries for maintenance.
To solve these challenges, scientists developed a wireless charging chip that sits beneath the skin.
This prototype chip, tested in rats, has the remarkable ability to transfer energy wirelessly through the body or harness energy from the body itself.
What’s fascinating is its flexibility and softness, adapting to tissue shapes during procedures and being biodegradable. This means it naturally breaks down over time without causing harm.
The chip’s design involves a magnesium coil that charges when another coil is placed above the skin. The power generated flows through a circuit into an energy-storage module made of zinc-ion hybrid capacitors.
These capacitors store electrical energy, discharging large amounts quickly despite holding less energy compared to batteries.
In the animal tests, the wireless implant functioned for up to 10 days and dissolved entirely within two months, proving its biodegradability.
However, the team believes it could last longer with some improvements. They’re considering reinforcing the protective layers encasing the system to prolong its lifespan.
Apart from powering devices, this chip can deliver medicine. In experiments, it effectively administered anti-inflammatory drugs to rats, reducing their fever.
However, there are some challenges to address before human testing. For instance, the system’s size needs reduction, and its full biodegradability remains a work in progress.
The team is also working on making it more stable and improving control mechanisms. While the chip’s potential is evident, further research is crucial to refine its design for real medical use.
Overcoming these hurdles could mean a future where medical implants are safer. Also, they are more efficient and have reduced infection risks, benefiting patients worldwide.
Implantable Chip
Implantable chips are small, about the size of a grain of rice, and they get placed under your skin. But don’t let their size fool you—they pack a big punch when it comes to helping with health problems.
First off, these chips are like mini doctors that never take a break. They can keep an eye on things like your heart rate, blood pressure and even how much sugar is in your blood.
This means doctors can check up on you from afar and jump in quickly if something doesn’t look right.
But wait, there’s more. These chips can also be medicine delivery machines. They can give you exactly the right amount of medicine you need, exactly when you need it.
This helps make sure you get better without having to deal with too many side effects.
And get this—they’re not just good at monitoring and delivering medicine; they can also be powerhouses for other medical devices.
Like those pacemakers that keep your heart ticking or neurostimulators that help with things like chronic pain.
By using energy from your body or cool wireless charging technology, these chips can make those devices smaller and more comfortable to have in your body.
Of course, with great power comes great responsibility. These chips collect a lot of personal health information, so it’s important to keep that data safe and private.
That means making sure only the right people can access it and getting your okay before anything happens.
So yeah, implantable chips might be tiny, but they’re mighty when it comes to changing the game in healthcare. Just remember to keep your data safe and your consent in check.
Ways to Know That an Implantable Chip is Safe
Ensuring that an implantable chip is safe is super important before it becomes a regular part of medical practices. Take a look at some simpler ways to figure out if an implantable chip is safe:
Check How Well It Fits with Our Bodies: Run tests first. That is to see how the chip interacts with our body’s biological systems.
This includes looking at possible bad reactions and how our immune system responds. Also, make sure the materials in the chip won’t cause any harm or get rejected by our bodies.
Watch It Over a Long Time: Do studies that last a long time. This is to see how the chip performs and if it stays safe over a long period of time.
This means keeping an eye on how the chip acts. That is, if it wears out and if there are any bad effects over many months or even years to make sure it stays safe.
Try It Out on Animals: Test the chip on animals a lot to see how it might work in humans.
This helps scientists see what happens to living things with the chip. Also, understand any possible problems and make the chip safer before trying it out on people.
See How It Works in People: Do really careful tests on people. This is to make sure the chip is safe and does what it’s supposed to do.
These tests need to follow important rules and include different types of people. Also, keep a close watch for any unexpected problems or complications.
Get the Green Light from Health Experts: Get approval from health experts who make sure things are safe. For instance, the FDA is in the United States.
Protect It from Computer Attacks: Make sure the chip is safe from computer attacks by putting strong security measures in place.
Also, this helps keep patient information safe and ensures the chip works the way it should without any harmful interference.
Keep an Eye on It After It’s Used: Create systems to keep checking how the chip is doing once people start using it.
This means collecting real-life data, seeing how patients are doing and quickly dealing with any safety issues that come up.
Get Advice from Different Experts: Talk to experts in different fields, like medicine, ethics and computer security, to get different opinions on the chip’s safety.
Working with these experts makes sure the evaluation is complete and addresses any safety concerns.
Be Honest About How It Works: Be open and honest when talking to doctors, patients and the public about how the chip keeps people safe, what risks there might be, and what benefits it brings.
This open conversation builds trust and helps people make informed choices.
Keep Making It Better: Promise to keep making the chip better based on feedback, new discoveries and as safety standards improve. That is, if you are the creator.
This means changing how the chip looks and works to make it safer as technology gets better and we learn more.