Soft subdermal implant capable of wireless battery charging and programmable controls for applications in optogenetics

Wireless recharging for implantable brain devices

30 June 2021

Wirelessly rechargeable brain implants could make it easier for researchers to control individual neurons in rats using pulses of lights.

Optogenetics is a research tool in neuroscience that uses light to alter the activity of genetically engineered light-sensitive nerve cells to better understand the function and behaviour of clusters of neurons in animals.

Now, a team led by researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed an implantable optogenetic light-emitting device that can be wirelessly recharged. The device contains a lithium polymer battery that harvests wireless radio-frequency energy using a coil antenna.

This solves the problem of having to keep the device attached to either external batteries that require regular changing or a tethered power source that limits the animal’s movement.

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References

1. Nature Communications 12, 535 (2021). doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-20803-y