Now a team of scientists is developing a new
generation of brain implants, which they hope will have an even bigger impact
on world health.
In an engineering lab at the University of
Cambridge, professor of technology George Malliaras and his team are launching
a project that they hope will help millions of people.
They are developing brain implants to treat
neurological and mental health conditions which will affect four in every five
of us.
"Brain implants can give us a new treatment
for diseases that are currently either untreatable or ineffectively managed by
pharmaceuticals," Prof Malliaras explains.
Brain implants have the potential to treat a
vast range of conditions.
"The list is ever expanding, but we're
talking about brain and spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's, dementia,
depression, OCD (Obsessive compulsive disorder, which is a mental health
condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours), and
it's looking promising for rheumatoid arthritis and Type 1 diabetes too.”
The implants work by sending out small
electrical impulses that change the way our neurons behave. (Neurons are nerve
cells, which send messages between our body and our brain through electrical
signals. They affect the way we walk, talk, eat and breathe. By changing the
way they work, it is possible to eliminate pain or re-stimulate parts of the
brain affected by disease or injury.)
"We already know that we can use electrical
impulses to diminish the tremor for some with Parkinson's disease," says
Prof Malliaras.
While implants are an invasive procedure, they could offer advantages over one-off treatments.
"Implants can constantly monitor the brain
to detect abnormal activity and then correct it more gently when needed."
In 2021, scientists in the US reported promising
results from an early study using brain implants to treat severe depression.
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