March 30, 2020
1 min read

MIT Develops 3D Print Rubbery Brain Implants

(190416)-- TEL AVIV, April 16, 2019 (Xinhua) Photo taken on April 15, 2019 shows a 3D-printed heart with human tissue at the University of Tel Aviv in Israel. Tel Aviv University scientists said on Monday that they have printed the first 3D heart, by using patient's cells and materials. The heart, which was produced in a lab, completely matches the biological characteristics of the patient's heart. It took about three hours to print the whole heart. Making a human heart model is a major medical breakthrough. However, the printed vascularized and engineered heart is approximately 100 times smaller than a real human heart. TO GO WITH "Feature: Israeli scientists use 3D printing to create world's 1st model of human heart" (Xinhua/JINI/Gideon Markowicz/IANS)

In what could pave the way for softer alternatives to existing metal-based electrodes designed to monitor brain activity, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have now developed a way to 3D print neural probes and other electronic devices that are as soft and flexible as rubber.

(190416)-- TEL AVIV, April 16, 2019 (Xinhua) Photo taken on April 15, 2019 shows a 3D-printed heart with human tissue at the University of Tel Aviv in Israel. Tel Aviv University scientists said on Monday that they have printed the first 3D heart, by using patient's cells and materials. The heart, which was produced in a lab, completely matches the biological characteristics of the patient's heart. It took about three hours to print the whole heart. Making a human heart model is a major medical breakthrough. However, the printed vascularized and engineered heart is approximately 100 times smaller than a real human heart. TO GO WITH "Feature: Israeli scientists use 3D printing to create world's 1st model of human heart" (Xinhua/JINI/Gideon Markowicz/IANS)
(190416)– TEL AVIV, April 16, 2019 (Xinhua) Photo taken on April 15, 2019 shows a 3D-printed heart with human tissue at the University of Tel Aviv in Israel. (Xinhua/JINI/Gideon Markowicz/IANS)

The devices are made from a type of polymer, or soft plastic, that is electrically conductive, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications.

The team transformed this normally liquid-like conducting polymer solution into a substance more like viscous toothpaste — which they could then feed through a conventional 3D printer to make stable, electrically conductive patterns.

Led by Professor Xuanhe Zhao, the MIT team printed several soft electronic devices, including a small, rubbery electrode, which they implanted in the brain of a mouse.

As the mouse moved freely in a controlled environment, the neural probe was able to pick up on the activity from a single neuron.

Monitoring this activity can give scientists a higher-resolution picture of the brain’s activity, and can help in tailoring therapies and long-term brain implants for a variety of neurological disorders.

“We hope by demonstrating this proof of concept, people can use this technology to make different devices, quickly,” said Hyunwoo Yuk, a graduate student in Zhao’s group at MIT.

“They can change the design, run the printing code, and generate a new design in 30 minutes. Hopefully this will streamline the development of neural interfaces, fully made of soft materials.”

The brain is one of our most vulnerable organs, as soft as the softest tofu. Brain implants, on the other hand, are typically made from metal and other rigid materials that over time can cause inflammation and the buildup of scar tissue.

Soft, flexible electronics may also be useful in brain implants that stimulate neural regions to ease symptoms of epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and severe depression.

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