Researchers at the University of Glasgow have developed an ultra-small wireless antenna that could transform the future of implantable medical devices.
The breakthrough technology, created by an international research team led by the university, is designed for implantable devices that diagnose, monitor and treat a wide range of medical conditions from inside the body.
Known as microbots, or µBots, the sub-millimetre-wide antennas can wirelessly transmit data through human tissue to external devices, offering a significant advancement over existing implant technology.
Unlike traditional radio-frequency antennas, which can be bulky and generate heat, the new magnetoelectric antennas combine acoustic and electromagnetic physics to create smaller, cooler devices capable of transmitting larger volumes of data.
Researchers believe the technology could support earlier diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, improve targeted drug delivery and enhance neuromodulation treatments for conditions including epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.
The team tested the antennas in rat brain tissue, human cortical brain slices and controlled cell cultures, with results showing consistent performance across biological tissues.
The study also found that using multiple µBots together helped overcome alignment issues between implanted devices and external receivers, improving communication reliability.
The findings have been published in the journal Science Advances in a paper titled Bio-integrated µBots with Overtone Ultra-Wideband Magnetoelectric Antennas for Wireless Telemetry.
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Dr Mahdieh Shojaei Baghini, the paper’s first and corresponding author from the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering, 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 µBots 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, a neuroscientist from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and co-author of the paper, 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, lead of the University of Glasgow’s Microelectronics Lab and a corresponding author, 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."
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