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🗞️ News - January 22, 2025

NHS to Test Brain Implant for Treating Neurological Disorders

NHS to trial brain implant for neurological disorders. 🧠 Ultrasound technology aims to treat conditions like depression and addiction. 🔬

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Quick Overview

The Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust is set to conduct a trial of a whole-brain computer interface that utilizes ultrasound technology to assess and influence brain activity.

Key Features of the Trial

  • Device Overview: The ultrasonic neural interface, named Forest 1 and developed by the US-based non-profit Forest Neurotech, aims to address conditions such as depression, addiction, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
  • Study Duration: The trial will span three and a half years, commencing in March 2025, and is funded by the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) as part of its Precision Neurotechnologies initiative.
  • Participant Recruitment: Approximately 30 individuals with craniectomies will be selected for the study, with the device applied externally at the site of the skull defect to connect with the brain.

Research Goals

  • The study aims to explore the safety and tolerability of the Forest 1 device.
  • It seeks to develop personalized therapies by accurately targeting neural networks using minimally invasive techniques.

Expert Insights

Aimun Jamjoom, a consultant neurosurgeon at the NHS Trust, emphasized the significance of the ARIA funding, stating it provides a unique opportunity to enhance ultrasound neurotechnology for comprehensive brain imaging and modulation. This could lead to innovative therapies for those with neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions.

Funding and Broader Initiatives

  • ARIA is investing £69 million over four years to support 18 research teams focused on advancing brain-computer interface technologies.
  • Other funded projects include the development of neural robots for epilepsy treatment and new methods for delivering gene therapies across the blood-brain barrier.

Future Implications

The outcomes of this trial could significantly impact the treatment landscape for complex neurological disorders, potentially offering new avenues for patients who have not responded to traditional therapies.

Related Developments

  • Medtech startup Robeauté has secured $28 million to create microrobots capable of diagnosing and treating neurological conditions within the brain.
  • These robots, comparable in size to a grain of rice, can perform tasks such as delivering therapeutic molecules and collecting data samples.

Sources


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