Imagine tiny, magnetic particles that act like remote-controlled switches for brain cells. Instead of drilling holes in the skull to implant electrodes, these particles are guided into the brain using ultrasound. Once inside, they can be triggered by external magnets to gently heat up or vibrate, turning specific neurons on or off to treat brain disorders.
Current deep brain stimulation requires invasive surgery and lacks the ability to target specific cell types, leaving many psychiatric disorders with only palliative care.
A wireless platform consisting of biocompatible magnetic nanomaterials, miniaturized driving coils, and a focused-ultrasound delivery system.
If you are a device developer dealing with the risks of invasive brain surgery — this project developed a wireless platform using magnetic nanomaterials that allows for deep brain stimulation without intracranial injections. This reduces surgical risk and improves patient safety.
If you are a pharma company dealing with the blood-brain barrier blocking medication — this project developed a focused-ultrasound-based delivery method that enables safe passage of nanomaterials into the brain. This allows for highly targeted delivery of viral vectors to specific neurons.
If you are a biotech firm dealing with the lack of cell-type selectivity in brain stimulation — this project developed antibody-targeting strategies and smart nanomaterials that can discriminate between neuronal cell types. This enables high spatiotemporal precision for therapeutic research.
Based on available project data, specific unit costs or pricing models are not provided; however, the project received an EU contribution of EUR 3,083,850 for development.
The project objective explicitly states the goal is to introduce a scalable neuromodulation technology, though current results are focused on in vitro and mouse models.
Based on available project data, there is no specific mention of patents or licensing agreements, though the project is currently in the 'SIGNED' status with 8 partners.
The system integrates focused ultrasound for delivery and miniaturized driving electronics with metamaterial coils for wireless actuation, aiming to replace invasive implants.
The project period runs from 2023-04-01 to 2027-03-31, with current phases focusing on mouse models of Fragile X syndrome before moving toward clinical applications.
The consortium is research-heavy with 5 universities and 1 research institute, but maintains a 25% industry ratio through 2 SMEs. This structure suggests a strong focus on fundamental material science and biological validation, while the inclusion of SMEs ensures a pathway toward commercialization of the driving electronics and nanomaterials.
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