The original headline for the University of Oxford press release was “Batteries for miniature bio-integrated devices and robotics” but it’s not clear to me what they mean by robotics (soft robots? robotic prostheses? something else?).
University of Oxford researchers have made a significant step towards realising miniature, soft batteries for use in a variety of biomedical applications, including the defibrillation and pacing of heart tissues. The work has been published today [October 25, 2024] in the journal Nature Chemical Engineering.
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An October 28, 2024 University of Oxford press release (also on EurekAlert but published October 25, 2024), which originated the lightly edited news item and posting on EurekAlert, provides more technical detail about this advance, Note: Links have been removed,
The development of tiny smart devices, smaller than a few cubic millimeters, demands equally small power sources. For minimally invasive biomedical devices that interact with biological tissues, these power sources must be fabricated from soft materials. Ideally, these should also have features such as high capacity, biocompatibility and biodegradability, triggerable activation, and the ability to be controlled remotely. To date, there has been no battery that can fulfil these requirements all at once.
To address these requirements, researchers from the University of Oxford’s Department of Chemistry and Department of Pharmacology have developed a miniature, soft lithium-ion battery constructed from biocompatible hydrogel droplets. Surfactant-supported assembly (assembly aided by soap-like molecules), a technique reported by the same group last year in the journal Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06295-y), is used to connect three microscale droplets of 10 nanolitres volume. Different lithium-ion particles contained in each of the two ends then generate the output energy.
‘Our droplet battery is light-activated, rechargeable, and biodegradable after use. To date, it is the smallest hydrogel lithium-ion battery and has a superior energy density’ said Dr Yujia Zhang (Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford), the lead researcher for the study and a starting Assistant Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. ‘We used the droplet battery to power the movement of charged molecules between synthetic cells and to control the beating and defibrillation of mouse hearts. By including magnetic particles to control movement, the battery can also function as a mobile energy carrier.’
Proof-of-concept heart treatments were carried out in the laboratory of Professor Ming Lei (Department of Pharmacology), a senior electrophysiologist in cardiac arrhythmias. He said: ‘Cardiac arrhythmia is a leading cause of death worldwide. Our proof-of-concept application in animal models demonstrates an exciting new avenue of wireless and biodegradable devices for the management of arrhythmias.’
Professor Hagan Bayley (Department of Chemistry), the research group leader for the study, said: ‘The tiny soft lithium-ion battery is the most sophisticated in a series of microscale power packs developed by Dr Zhang and points to a fantastic future for biocompatible electronic devices that can operate under physiological conditions.’
The researchers have filed a patent application through Oxford University Innovation. They envisage that the tiny versatile battery, particularly relevant to small-scale robots for bioapplications, will open up new possibilities in various areas including clinical medicine.
Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,
A microscale soft lithium-ion battery for tissue stimulation by Yujia Zhang, Tianyi Sun, Xingyun Yang, Linna Zhou, Cheryl M. J. Tan, Ming Lei & Hagan Bayley. Nature Chemical Engineering volume 1, pages 691–701 (2024) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-024-00136-z Published online: 25 October 2024 Issue Date: November 2024
This paper is open access.
Now, I want to highlight a few items from the paper’s introduction, Note: Links have been removed,
The miniaturization of electronic devices is a burgeoning area of research1,2,3. Therefore, the development of tiny batteries to power these devices is of critical importance, and techniques such as three-dimensional (3D) printing4,5,6 and micro-origami assembly7 [emphases mine] are beginning to have an impact. For minimally invasive applications in biomedicine, batteries are also preferred to be soft, biocompatible and biodegradable, with additional functionality and responsiveness, such as triggerable activation and remote-controlled mobility8. However, at present, such a multifunctional microscale soft battery is not available. Although hydrogel-based lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries demonstrate some of these features9,10,11,12, none currently exhibits microscale fabrication of the battery architecture, in terms of self-assembled integration of hydrogel-based cathode, separator and anode at the submillimeter level. Manual assembly of precrosslinked compartments11 or multistep deposition and crosslinking4 is necessary to avoid the mixing of materials from different compartments at the pregel (liquid) state or during the gelation process. This limitation not only makes it difficult to shrink hydrogel-based functional architectures but also hinders the implementation of high-density energy storage.
Toward that end, Zhang et al. have reported a miniaturized ionic power source by depositing lipid-supported networks of nanoliter hydrogel droplets13. The power source mimics the electrical eel [emphasis mine] by using internal ion gradients to generate ionic current14, and can induce neuronal modulation. However, the ionic power source has several limitations [emphasis mine] that should be addressed. First, the stored salt gradient produces less power than conventional Li-ion batteries, and the device cannot be fully recharged. Second, activation of the power source relies on temperature-triggered gelation and oil for buffer exchange, which is a demanding requirement. Third, the functionality of the power source is limited to the generation of ionic output, leaving the full versatility of synthetic tissues unexploited15,16,17. Last, but not least, while the power source can modulate the activity of neural microtissues, organ-level stimulation necessitates a higher and more stable output performance in physiological environments18.
Here, we present a miniature, soft, rechargeable Li-ion droplet battery (LiDB) made by depositing self-assembling [emphasis mine], nanoliter, lipid-supported, silk hydrogel droplets. The tiny hydrogel compartmentalization produces a superior energy density. The battery is switched on by ultraviolet (UV) light, which crosslinks the hydrogel and breaks the lipid barrier between droplets. The droplets are soft, biocompatible and biodegradable. The LiDBs can power charge molecule translocation between synthetic cells, defibrillate mouse hearts with ventricular arrhythmias and pace heart rhythms. Further, the LiDB can be translocated from one site to another magnetically.
This team has integrated a number of cutting edge (I think you can still call them that) techniques such as 3D printing and origami along with inspiration from electric eels (biomimicry) for using light as a power source. .Finally, there’s self-assembly or, as it’s sometimes known, bottom-up engineering, just like nature.
This work still needs to be tested in human clinical trials but taking that into account: Bravo to the researchers!
First, thank you to anyone who’s dropped by to read any of my posts. Second, I didn’t quite catch up on my backlog in what was then the new year (2024) despite my promises. (sigh) I will try to publish my drafts in a more timely fashion but I start this coming year as I did 2024 with a backlog of two to three months. This may be my new normal.
As for now, here’s an overview of FrogHeart’s 2024. The posts that follow are loosely organized under a heading but many of them could fit under other headings as well. After my informal review, there’s some material on foretelling the future as depicted in an exhibition, “Oracles, Omens and Answers,” at the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford.
Human enhancement: prosthetics, robotics, and more
Within a year or two of starting this blog I created a tag ‘machine/flesh’ to organize information about a number of converging technologies such as robotics, brain implants, and prosthetics that could alter our concepts of what it means to be human. The larger category of human enhancement functions in much the same way also allowing a greater range of topics to be covered.
Here are some of the 2024 human enhancement and/or machine/flesh stories on this blog,
As for anyone who’s curious about hydrogels, there’s this from an October 20, 2016 article by D.C.Demetre for ScienceBeta, Note: A link has been removed,
Hydrogels, materials that can absorb and retain large quantities of water, could revolutionise medicine. Our bodies contain up to 60% water, but hydrogels can hold up to 90%.
It is this similarity to human tissue that has led researchers to examine if these materials could be used to improve the treatment of a range of medical conditions including heart disease and cancer.
These days hydrogels can be found in many everyday products, from disposable nappies and soft contact lenses to plant-water crystals. But the history of hydrogels for medical applications started in the 1960s.
Scientists developed artificial materials with the ambitious goal of using them in permanent contact applications , ones that are implanted in the body permanently.
For anyone who wants a more technical explanation, there’s the Hydrogel entry on Wikipedia.
Science education and citizen science
Where science education is concerned I’m seeing some innovative approaches to teaching science, which can include citizen science. As for citizen science (also known as, participatory science) I’ve been noticing heightened interest at all age levels.
It’s been another year where artificial intelligence (AI) has absorbed a lot of energy from nearly everyone. I’m highlighting the more unusual AI stories I’ve stumbled across,
As you can see, I’ve tucked in two tangentially related stories, one which references a neuromorphic computing story ((see my Neuromorphic engineering category or search for ‘memristors’ in the blog search engine for more on brain-like computing topics) and the other is intellectual property. There are many, many more stories on these topics
Art/science (or art/sci or sciart)
It’s a bit of a surprise to see how many art/sci stories were published here this year, although some might be better described as art/tech stories.
There may be more 2024 art/sci stories but the list was getting long. In addition to searching for art/sci on the blog search engine, you may want to try data sonification too.
Moving off planet to outer space
This is not a big interest of mine but there were a few stories,
I expect to be delighted, horrified, thrilled, and left shaking my head by science stories in 2025. Year after year the world of science reveals a world of wonder.
More mundanely, I can state with some confidence that my commentary (mentioned in the future-oriented subsection of my 2023 review and 2024 look forward) on Quantum Potential, a 2023 report from the Council of Canadian Academies, will be published early in this new year as I’ve almost finished writing it.
Some questions are hard to answer and always have been. Does my beloved love me back? Should my country go to war? Who stole my goats?
Questions like these have been asked of diviners around the world throughout history – and still are today. From astrology and tarot to reading entrails, divination comes in a wide variety of forms.
Yet they all address the same human needs. They promise to tame uncertainty, help us make decisions or simply satisfy our desire to understand.
Anthropologists and historians like us study divination because it sheds light on the fears and anxieties of particular cultures, many of which are universal. Our new exhibition at Oxford’s Bodleian Library, Oracles, Omens & Answers, explores these issues by showcasing divination techniques from around the world.
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1. Spider divination
In Cameroon, Mambila spider divination (ŋgam dù) addresses difficult questions to spiders or land crabs that live in holes in the ground.
Asking the spiders a question involves covering their hole with a broken pot and placing a stick, a stone and cards made from leaves around it. The diviner then asks a question in a yes or no format while tapping the enclosure to encourage the spider or crab to emerge. The stick and stone represent yes or no, while the leaf cards, which are specially incised with certain meanings, offer further clarification.
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2. Palmistry
Reading people’s palms (palmistry) is well known as a fairground amusement, but serious forms of this divination technique exist in many cultures. The practice of reading the hands to gather insights into a person’s character and future was used in many ancient cultures across Asia and Europe.
In some traditions, the shape and depth of the lines on the palm are richest in meaning. In others, the size of the hands and fingers are also considered. In some Indian traditions, special marks and symbols appearing on the palm also provide insights.
Palmistry experienced a huge resurgence in 19th-century England and America, just as the science of fingerprints was being developed. If you could identify someone from their fingerprints, it seemed plausible to read their personality from their hands.
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3. Bibliomancy
If you want a quick answer to a difficult question, you could try bibliomancy. Historically, this DIY [do-it-yourself] divining technique was performed with whatever important books were on hand.
Throughout Europe, the works of Homer or Virgil were used. In Iran, it was often the Divan of Hafiz, a collection of Persian poetry. In Christian, Muslim and Jewish traditions, holy texts have often been used, though not without controversy.
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4. Astrology
Astrology exists in almost every culture around the world. As far back as ancient Babylon, astrologers have interpreted the heavens to discover hidden truths and predict the future.
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5. Calendrical divination
Calendars have long been used to divine the future and establish the best times to perform certain activities. In many countries, almanacs still advise auspicious and inauspicious days for tasks ranging from getting a haircut to starting a new business deal.
In Indonesia, Hindu almanacs called pawukon [calendar] explain how different weeks are ruled by different local deities. The characteristics of the deities mean that some weeks are better than others for activities like marriage ceremonies.
6 December 2024 – 27 April 2025 ST Lee Gallery, Weston Library
The Bodleian Libraries’ new exhibition, Oracles, Omens and Answers, will explore the many ways in which people have sought answers in the face of the unknown across time and cultures. From astrology and palm reading to weather and public health forecasting, the exhibition demonstrates the ubiquity of divination practices, and humanity’s universal desire to tame uncertainty, diagnose present problems, and predict future outcomes.
Through plagues, wars and political turmoil, divination, or the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown, has remained an integral part of society. Historically, royals and politicians would consult with diviners to guide decision-making and incite action. People have continued to seek comfort and guidance through divination in uncertain times — the COVID-19 pandemic saw a rise in apps enabling users to generate astrological charts or read the Yijing [I Ching], alongside a growth in horoscope and tarot communities on social media such as ‘WitchTok’. Many aspects of our lives are now dictated by algorithmic predictions, from e-health platforms to digital advertising. Scientific forecasters as well as doctors, detectives, and therapists have taken over many of the societal roles once held by diviners. Yet the predictions of today’s experts are not immune to criticism, nor can they answer all our questions.
Curated by Dr Michelle Aroney, whose research focuses on early modern science and religion, and Professor David Zeitlyn, an expert in the anthropology of divination, the exhibition will take a historical-anthropological approach to methods of prophecy, prediction and forecasting, covering a broad range of divination methods, including astrology, tarot, necromancy, and spider divination.
Dating back as far as ancient Mesopotamia, the exhibition will show us that the same kinds of questions have been asked of specialist practitioners from around the world throughout history. What is the best treatment for this illness? Does my loved one love me back? When will this pandemic end? Through materials from the archives of the Bodleian Libraries alongside other collections in Oxford, the exhibition demonstrates just how universally human it is to seek answers to difficult questions.
Highlights of the exhibition include: oracle bones from Shang Dynasty China (ca. 1250-1050 BCE); an Egyptian celestial globe dating to around 1318; a 16th-century armillary sphere from Flanders, once used by astrologers to place the planets in the sky in relation to the Zodiac; a nineteenth-century illuminated Javanese almanac; and the autobiography of astrologer Joan Quigley, who worked with Nancy and Ronald Reagan in the White House for seven years. The casebooks of astrologer-physicians in 16th- and 17th-century England also offer rare insights into the questions asked by clients across the social spectrum, about their health, personal lives, and business ventures, and in some cases the actions taken by them in response.
The exhibition also explores divination which involves the interpretation of patterns or clues in natural things, with the idea that natural bodies contain hidden clues that can be decrypted. Some diviners inspect the entrails of sacrificed animals (known as ‘extispicy’), as evidenced by an ancient Mesopotamian cuneiform tablet describing the observation of patterns in the guts of birds. Others use human bodies, with palm readers interpreting characters and fortunes etched in their clients’ hands. A sketch of Oscar Wilde’s palms – which his palm reader believed indicated “a great love of detail…extraordinary brain power and profound scholarship” – shows the revival of palmistry’s popularity in 19th century Britain.
The exhibition will also feature a case study of spider divination practised by the Mambila people of Cameroon and Nigeria, which is the research specialism of curator Professor David Zeitlyn, himself a Ŋgam dù diviner. This process uses burrowing spiders or land crabs to arrange marked leaf cards into a pattern, which is read by the diviner. The display will demonstrate the methods involved in this process and the way in which its results are interpreted by the card readers. African basket divination has also been observed through anthropological research, where diviners receive answers to their questions in the form of the configurations of thirty plus items after they have been tossed in the basket.
Dr Michelle Aroney and Professor David Zeitlyn, co-curators of the exhibition, say:
Every day we confront the limits of our own knowledge when it comes to the enigmas of the past and present and the uncertainties of the future. Across history and around the world, humans have used various techniques that promise to unveil the concealed, disclosing insights that offer answers to private or shared dilemmas and help to make decisions. Whether a diviner uses spiders or tarot cards, what matters is whether the answers they offer are meaningful and helpful to their clients. What is fun or entertainment for one person is deadly serious for another.
Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s [a nickname? Bodleian Libraries were founded by Sir Thomas Bodley] Librarian, said:
People have tried to find ways of predicting the future for as long as we have had recorded history. This exhibition examines and illustrates how across time and culture, people manage the uncertainty of everyday life in their own way. We hope that through the extraordinary exhibits, and the scholarship that brings them together, visitors to the show will appreciate the long history of people seeking answers to life’s biggest questions, and how people have approached it in their own unique way.
The exhibition will be accompanied by the book Divinations, Oracles & Omens, edited by Michelle Aroney and David Zeitlyn, which will be published by Bodleian Library Publishing on 5 December 2024.
Courtesy: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
I’m not sure why the preceding image is used to illustrate the exhibition webpage but I find it quite interesting. Should you be in Oxford, UK and lucky enough to visit the exhibition, there are a few more details on the Oracles, Omens and Answers event webpage, Note: There are 26 Bodleian Libraries at Oxford and the exhibition is being held in the Weston Library,
EXHIBITION
Oracles, Omens and Answers
6 December 2024 – 27 April 2025
ST Lee Gallery, Weston Library
Free admission, no ticket required
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Note: This exhibition includes a large continuous projection of spider divination practice, including images of the spiders in action.
Exhibition tours
Oracles, Omens and Answers exhibition tours are available on selected Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1–1.45pm and are open to all.
Here’s the press release, Note: Links have been removed,
“It feels like I’m moving my own hand”. A research team from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa has developed the prosthesis of the future, the first in the world with magnetic control
It is a completely new way of controlling the movements of a robotic hand. “The trial on the first patient was successful. We are ready to extend these results to a broader range of amputations” says Prof. Christian Cipriani
It is the first magnetically controlled prosthetic hand, that allows amputees to reproduce all movements simply by thinking and to control the force applied when grasping fragile objects. No wires, no electrical connection, only magnets and muscles to control the movements of the fingers and enable everyday activities such as opening a jar, using a screwdriver, picking up a coin. A research team from the BioRobotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, coordinated by Prof. Christian Cipriani, has developed a radically new interface between the residual arm of the amputee and the robotic hand to decode motor intentions. The system involves implanting small magnets into the muscles of the forearm. The implant, integrated with the Mia-Hand robotic hand developed by the spin-off Prensilia, was successfully tested on the first patient, a 34-year-old Italian named Daniel, who used the prosthesis for six weeks. The results of the trial were presented in the scientific journal Science Robotics and represent a significant step forward for the future of prostheses.
“This result rewards a decades-long research path. We have finally developed a functional prosthesis that meets the needs of a person who has lost a hand” says Christian Cipriani, professor at the BioRobotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna.
Myokinetic control for the development of a natural prosthesis
Myokinetic control: the decoding of motor intentions by means of implantable magnets in the muscles. This is the frontier explored by the research team of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna to revolutionise the future of prostheses. The idea behind the new interface, developed as part of the MYKI project, funded by the European Commission through an ERC [European Research Council] Starting Grant, is to use small magnets, a few millimetres in size, to be implanted in the residual muscles of the amputated arm and use the movement resulting from contraction to open and close the fingers.
“There are 20 muscles in the forearm and many of them control the hand movements. Many people who have lost a hand keep on feeling it as if it is still in place and the residual muscles move in response to the commands from the brain” Cipriani explains.
The research team mapped the movements and translated them into signals to guide the fingers of the robotic hand. The magnets have a natural magnetic field that can be easily localized in space. When the muscle contracts, the magnet moves and a special algorithm translates this change into a specific command for the robotic hand.
Daniel, the first patient to test the new prosthesis
Daniel lost his left hand in September 2022. “I suddenly found myself without a hand: one moment I had it and the next moment it was gone”. He was selected as a volunteer for the study because he still felt the presence of his hand and the residual muscles in his arm responded to his movement intentions.
In April 2023, Daniel underwent surgery to implant magnets in his arm. The surgery was carried out at the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana (AOUP), thanks to the collaboration of a team coordinated by Dr Lorenzo Andreani of the Orthopaedics and Traumatology 2 Operative Unit, Dr Manuela Nicastro of the Anaesthesia and Reanimation Orthopaedics and Burns Centre unit, and Dr Carmelo Chisari of the Neurorehabilitation unit.
“This is a significant advancement in the field of advanced prosthetic medicine – says Dr. Lorenzo Andreani – The surgery was successful thanks to a careful patient selection process based on strict criteria. One of the most complex challenges was identifying the residual muscles in the amputation area, which were precisely selected using preoperative MRI imaging and electromyography. However, the actual condition of the tissue, due to scarring and fibrosis, required intraoperative adaptation”.
“Despite these difficulties – Andreani continues – we were able to complete the implant and establish the connections—a success that would have been impossible without the collaboration of an exceptional team, whom I would like to thank. Starting with Dr. Manuela Nicastro, head of anaesthesia, to the nurses who worked with dedication and professionalism, contributing decisively to the positive outcome of the operation, which represents an important step forward in medical research”.
Six magnets were implanted in Daniel’s arm. For each one, the team of surgeons and doctors located and isolated the muscle, positioned the magnet and checked that the magnetic field was oriented in the same way.
“To make the connection between the residual arm where the magnets were implanted and the robotic hand easier, we made a carbon fibre prosthetic socket containing the electronic system capable of localising the movement of the magnets” Cipriani explains.
The results of the experiment went far beyond the most optimistic expectations. Daniel was able to control the movements of his fingers, picked up and moved objects of different shapes, performed classic everyday actions such as opening a jar, using a screwdriver, cutting with a knife, closing a zip; he was able to control the force when he had to grasp fragile objects.
“This system allowed me to recover lost sensations and emotions: it feels like I’m moving my own hand” says Daniel.
“To see the work of years of research realised in this study was a great emotion. Working together with Daniel has given us the awareness that we can do a lot to improve his life and the lives of many other people. This is the greatest motivation that drives us to continue our work and to always do better,” explains Marta Gherardini, assistant professor at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and first author of the study.
Next steps
“We are ready to extend these results to a broader range of amputations – Cipriani concludes – In fact, our work on this new implant is going ahead thanks to European and national funding. Among these, I would like to mention the MYTI [MYKI?} project, financed by the European Research Council, which aims at the clinical translation of the interface we have developed; the Fit For Medical Robotics project, financed by the Ministry of University and Research, and all the collaborations we have had for years with INAIL Centro Protesi”.
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The Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa, Italy) is a public university working in the field of applied sciences: Economics and Management, Law, Political Sciences, Agricultural Sciences and Plant Biotechnology, Medicine, and Industrial and Information Engineering. It is first in the list of Italian Universities, and consistently in the top 2% globally in the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings. https://www.santannapisa.it/en
Restoration of grasping in an upper limb amputee using the myokinetic prosthesis with implanted magnets by Marta Gherardini, Valerio Ianniciello, Federico Masiero, Flavia Paggetti, Daniele D’Accolti, Eliana La Frazia, Olimpia Mani, Stefania Dalise, Katarina Dejanovic, Noemi Fragapane, Luca Maggiani, Edoardo Ipponi, Marco Controzzi, Manuela Nicastro, Carmelo Chisari, Lorenzo Andreani, and Christian Cipriani. Science Robotics 11 Sep 2024 Vol 9, Issue 94 DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adp3260
A July 10,2024 news item on ScienceDaily announces work on a new material for use in neuroprostheses could help people who are paralyzed or have amputated limbs, Note: This research involves use of animal models,
Neuroprostheses allow the nervous system of a patient who has suffered an injury to connect with mechanical devices that replace paralyzed or amputated limbs. A study coordinated by the UAB Institut de Neurociències, in collaboration with the l’Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2), demonstrates in animal models how EGNITE, a derivative of graphene, allows the creation of smaller electrodes, which can interact more selectively with the nerves they stimulate, thus improving the efficacy of the prostheses. The study also demonstrated that EGNITE is biocompatible, showing that its implantation is safe.
After an amputation or a severe nerve injury, patients lose to a greater or lesser extent the ability to move and feel a lost limb, which limits their autonomy in activities of daily living. Currently, the only strategy that allows to recover the lost functions consists of neuroprostheses: electrodes capable of stimulating the nerves, to induce specific sensations, and of recording motor signals that, once decoded, can be sent to a bionic prosthesis.
In the design of neuroprostheses, it is important that the electrodes are small enough that they are selective and interact electrically only with a reduced number of axons in the nerve. Therefore, although they have commonly been constructed from metals such as gold, platinum or iridium oxide, it is necessary to find other materials that have enhanced conductive capacity and allow the creation of even smaller electrode contacts. This is where graphene and its derivatives come into play; their excellent electrical properties have allowed the development of a new generation of microelectrodes.
A research coordinated by the UAB Institut de Neurociències (INc-UAB) has studied the capacity of a new material derived from graphene, EGNITE, to stimulate and record from the peripheral nerve. Furthermore, its biocompatibility has been validated, which is key for preserving the function of the interface over time. The research was carried out in the Neuroplasticity and Regeneration group of the INc-UAB, led by professor Xavier Navarro of the UAB Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, in collaboration with Jose Garrido’s research group at the Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2), which was in charge of developing the EGNITE together with the neural interfaces.
These electrodes, implanted in rat sciatic nerve, were shown to be capable of producing selective muscle activation for up to a maximum of 60 days. “The reduction in the electrical current necessary to produce this muscle activation is notable in comparison to other larger metal microelectrodes”, explains Bruno Rodríguez-Meana, postdoctoral researcher at the INc-UAB and first author of the article. Furthermore, the electrodes with EGNITE demonstrated to be biocompatible, since none of the functional tests showed significant alterations produced by the implanted interfaces nor was exacerbated inflammation observed.
“The next steps will consist of the optimization of the EGNITE-based technology and its application in pre-clinical studies for vagus nerve or spinal cord stimulation systems. In parallel, progress is being made towards its clinical translation in bioelectronic medicine approaches”, explains Professor Navarro.
Together, these results indicate the potential of the material derived from graphene to be part of neuroprostheses that allow patients to recover lost functions, thus improving their capacity and quality of life.
A July 23, 2024 University of Southampton (UK) press release (also on EurekAlert but published July 22, 2024) describes the emerging science/technology of bio-hybrid robotics and a recent study about the ethical issues raised, Note 1: bio-hybrid may also be written as biohybrid; Note 2: Links have been removed,
Development of ‘living robots’ needs regulation and public debate
Researchers are calling for regulation to guide the responsible and ethical development of bio-hybrid robotics – a ground-breaking science which fuses artificial components with living tissue and cells.
In a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [PNAS] a multidisciplinary team from the University of Southampton and universities in the US and Spain set out the unique ethical issues this technology presents and the need for proper governance.
Combining living materials and organisms with synthetic robotic components might sound like something out of science fiction, but this emerging field is advancing rapidly. Bio-hybrid robots using living muscles can crawl, swim, grip, pump, and sense their surroundings. Sensors made from sensory cells or insect antennae have improved chemical sensing. Living neurons have even been used to control mobile robots.
Dr Rafael Mestre from the University of Southampton, who specialises in emergent technologies and is co-lead author of the paper, said: “The challenges in overseeing bio-hybrid robotics are not dissimilar to those encountered in the regulation of biomedical devices, stem cells and other disruptive technologies. But unlike purely mechanical or digital technologies, bio-hybrid robots blend biological and synthetic components in unprecedented ways. This presents unique possible benefits but also potential dangers.”
Research publications relating to bio-hybrid robotics have increased continuously over the last decade. But the authors found that of the more than 1,500 publications on the subject at the time, only five considered its ethical implications in depth.
The paper’s authors identified three areas where bio-hybrid robotics present unique ethical issues: Interactivity – how bio-robots interact with humans and the environment, Integrability – how and whether humans might assimilate bio-robots (such as bio-robotic organs or limbs), and Moral status.
In a series of thought experiments, they describe how a bio-robot for cleaning our oceans could disrupt the food chain, how a bio-hybrid robotic arm might exacerbate inequalities [emphasis mine], and how increasing sophisticated bio-hybrid assistants could raise questions about sentience and moral value.
“Bio-hybrid robots create unique ethical dilemmas,” says Aníbal M. Astobiza, an ethicist from the University of the Basque Country in Spain and co-lead author of the paper. “The living tissue used in their fabrication, potential for sentience, distinct environmental impact, unusual moral status, and capacity for biological evolution or adaptation create unique ethical dilemmas that extend beyond those of wholly artificial or biological technologies.”
The paper is the first from the Biohybrid Futures project led by Dr Rafael Mestre, in collaboration with the Rebooting Democracy project. Biohybrid Futures is setting out to develop a framework for the responsible research, application, and governance of bio-hybrid robotics.
The paper proposes several requirements for such a framework, including risk assessments, consideration of social implications, and increasing public awareness and understanding.
Dr Matt Ryan, a political scientist from the University of Southampton and a co-author on the paper, said: “If debates around embryonic stem cells, human cloning or artificial intelligence have taught us something, it is that humans rarely agree on the correct resolution of the moral dilemmas of emergent technologies.
“Compared to related technologies such as embryonic stem cells or artificial intelligence, bio-hybrid robotics has developed relatively unattended by the media, the public and policymakers, but it is no less significant. We want the public to be included in this conversation to ensure a democratic approach to the development and ethical evaluation of this technology.”
In addition to the need for a governance framework, the authors set out actions that the research community can take now to guide their research.
“Taking these steps should not be seen as prescriptive in any way, but as an opportunity to share responsibility, taking a heavy weight away from the researcher’s shoulders,” says Dr Victoria Webster-Wood, a biomechanical engineer from Carnegie Mellon University in the US and co-author on the paper.
“Research in bio-hybrid robotics has evolved in various directions. We need to align our efforts to fully unlock its potential.”
Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,
Ethics and responsibility in biohybrid robotics research by Rafael Mestre, Aníbal M. Astobiza, Victoria A. Webster-Wood, Matt Ryan, and M. Taher A. Saif. PNAS 121 (31) e2310458121 July 23, 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2310458121
This paper is open access.
Cyborg or biohybrid robot?
Earlier, I highlighted “… how a bio-hybrid robotic arm might exacerbate inequalities …” because it suggests cyborgs, which are not mentioned in the press release or in the paper, This seems like an odd omission but, over the years, terminology does change although it’s not clear that’s the situation here.
I have two ‘definitions’, the first is from an October 21, 2019 article by Javier Yanes for OpenMind BBVA, Note: More about BBVA later,
…
The fusion between living organisms and artificial devices has become familiar to us through the concept of the cyborg (cybernetic organism). This approach consists of restoring or improving the capacities of the organic being, usually a human being, by means of technological devices. On the other hand, biohybrid robots are in some ways the opposite idea: using living tissues or cells to provide the machine with functions that would be difficult to achieve otherwise. The idea is that if soft robots seek to achieve this through synthetic materials, why not do so directly with living materials?
Another approach to building biohybrid robots is the artificial enhancement of animals or using an entire animal body as a scaffold to manipulate robotically. The locomotion of these augmented animals can then be externally controlled, spanning three modes of locomotion: walking/running, flying, and swimming. Notably, these capabilities have been demonstrated in jellyfish (figure 4(A)) [139, 140], clams (figure 4(B)) [141], turtles (figure 4(C)) [142, 143], and insects, including locusts (figure 4(D)) [27, 144], beetles (figure 4(E)) [28, 145–158], cockroaches (figure 4(F)) [159–165], and moths [166–170].
….
The advantages of using entire animals as cyborgs are multifold. For robotics, augmented animals possess inherent features that address some of the long-standing challenges within the field, including power consumption and damage tolerance, by taking advantage of animal metabolism [172], tissue healing, and other adaptive behaviors. In particular, biohybrid robotic jellyfish, composed of a self-contained microelectronic swim controller embedded into live Aurelia aurita moon jellyfish, consumed one to three orders of magnitude less power per mass than existing swimming robots [172], and cyborg insects can make use of the insect’s hemolymph directly as a fuel source [173].
…
So, sometimes there’s a distinction and sometimes there’s not. I take this to mean that the field is still emerging and that’s reflected in evolving terminology.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbaŋko βilˈβao βiθˈkaʝa aɾxenˈtaɾja]), better known by its initialism BBVA, is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Madrid and Bilbao, Spain. It is one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and is present mainly in Spain, Portugal, Mexico, South America, Turkey, Italy and Romania.[2]
OpenMind is a non-profit project run by BBVA that aims to contribute to the generation and dissemination of knowledge about fundamental issues of our time, in an open and free way. The project is materialized in an online dissemination community.
“Sharing knowledge for a better future“.
At OpenMind we want to help people understand the main phenomena affecting our lives; the opportunities and challenges that we face in areas such as science, technology, humanities or economics. Analyzing the impact of scientific and technological advances on the future of the economy, society and our daily lives is the project’s main objective, which always starts on the premise that a broader and greater quality knowledge will help us to make better individual and collective decisions.
Finally, you can find more on these stories (science/technology announcements and/or ethics research/issues) here by searching for ‘robots’ (tag and category), ‘cyborgs’ (tag), ‘machine/flesh’ (tag), ‘neuroprosthetic’ (tag), and human enhancement (category).
A July 24, 2024 news item on phys.org highlights research into regenerating bone and skin, Note: A link has been removed,
Researchers are exploring new nature-based solutions to stimulate skin and bone repair.
In the cities of Trento and Rovereto in northern Italy and Bangkok in Thailand, scientists are busy rearing silkworms in nurseries. They’re hoping that the caterpillars’ silk can regenerate human tissue. For such a delicate medical procedure, only thoroughbreds will do.
“By changing the silkworm, you can change the chemistry,” said Professor Antonella Motta, a researcher in bioengineering at the University of Trento in Italy. That could, in turn, affect clinical outcomes. “This means the quality control should be very strict.”
Silk has been used in surgical sutures for hundreds of years and is now emerging as a promising nature-based option for triggering human tissue to self-regenerate. Researchers are also studying crab, shrimp and mussel shells and squid skin and bone for methods of restoring skin, bone and cartilage. This is particularly relevant as populations age.
…
A July 23, 2024 article by Gareth Willmer for Horizon Magazine, the EU (European Union) research & innovation magazine, which originated the news item, provides more details,
‘Tissue engineering is a new strategy to solve problems caused by pathologies or trauma to the organs, as an alternative to transplants or artificial device implantations,’ said Motta, noting that these interventions can often fail or expire. ‘The idea is to use the natural ability of our bodies to rebuild the tissue.’
The research forms part of the five-year EU-funded SHIFT [Shaping Innovative Designs for Sustainable Tissue Engineering Products] project that Motta coordinates, which includes universities in Europe, as well as partners in Asia and Australia. Running until 2026, the research team aim to scale up methods for regenerating skin, bone and cartilage using bio-based polymers and to get them ready for clinical trials. The goal is to make them capable of repairing larger wounds and tissue damage.
The research builds on work carried out under the earlier REMIX [Regenerative Medicine Innovation Crossing – Research and Innovation Staff Exchange in Regenerative Medicine] project, also funded by the EU, which made important advances in understanding the different ways in which these biomaterials could be used.
Building a scaffold
Silk, for instance, can be used to form a “scaffold” in damaged tissue that then activates cells to form new tissue and blood vessels. The process could be used to treat conditions such as diabetic ulcers and lower back pain caused by spinal disc degeneration. The SHIFT team have been exploring minimally invasive procedures for treatment, such as hydrogels that can be applied directly to the skin, or injected into bone or cartilage.
The approaches using both silkworms and some of the marine organisms have great potential, said Motta.
‘We have three or four systems with different materials that are really promising,’ she said. By the end of SHIFT, the goal is to have two or three prototypes that can be developed together with start-up and spin-off companies created in collaboration with the project.
One of the principles of the SHIFT team has been been exploring how best to harness the concept of a circular economy. For example, they are looking into how waste products from the textile and food industries can be reused in these treatments.
Yet with complicated interactions at a microscale, and the need to prevent the body from rejecting foreign materials, such tissue engineering is a big challenge.
‘The complexity is high because the nature of biology is not easy,’ said Motta. ‘We cannot change the language of the cells, but instead have to learn to speak the same language as them.’
But she firmly believes the nature-based rather than synthetic approach is the way to go and thinks treatments harnessing SHIFT’s methods could become available in the early 2030s.
‘I believe in this approach,’ said Motta. ‘Bone designed by nature is the best bone we can have.’
Skin care
Another EU-funded project known as SkinTERM [Skin Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine: From skin repair to regeneration], which runs for almost five years until mid-2025, is also looking at novel ways to get tissue to self-regenerate, focusing on skin. To treat burns and other surface wounds today, a thin layer of skin is sometimes grafted from another part of the body. This can cause the appearance of disfiguring scars and the patient’s mobility may be impacted when the tissue contracts as it heals. Current skin-grafting methods can also be painful.
The SkinTERM team are therefore investigating how inducing the healing process in the networks of cells surrounding a wound might enable skin to repair itself.
‘We could do much better if we move towards regeneration,’ said Dr Willeke Daamen, who coordinates SkinTERM as a researcher in soft tissue regeneration at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. ‘The ultimate goal would be to get the same situation before and after being wounded.’
Researchers are studying a particular mammal – the spiny mouse – which has a remarkable ability to heal without scarring. It is able to self-repair damage to other tissues like the heart and spinal cord too. This is also true of early foetal skin.
The team are examining these systems to learn more about how they work and the processes occurring in the area around cells, known as the extracellular matrix. They hope to identify factors that might have a role in the regenerative process, and test how it might be induced in humans.
Kick-start
‘We’ve been trying to learn from those systems on how to kick-start such processes,’ said Daamen. ‘We’ve made progress in what kinds of compounds seem at least in part to be responsible for a regenerative response.’
Many lines of research are being carried out among a new generation of multidisciplinary scientists being trained in this area, and a lot has already been achieved, said Daamen.
They have managed to create scaffolds using different components related to skin regeneration, such as the proteins collagen and elastin. They have also collected a vast amount of data on genes and proteins with potential roles in regeneration. Their role will be further tested by using them on scar-prone cells cultured on collagen scaffolds.
‘The mechanisms are complex,’ said Dr Bouke Boekema, a senior researcher at the Association of Dutch Burn Centres in Beverwijk, the Netherlands, and vice-coordinator of SkinTERM.
‘If you find a mechanism, the idea is that maybe you can tune it so that you can stimulate it. But there’s not necessarily one magic bullet.’
By the end of the project next year, Boekema hopes the research could result in some medical biomaterial options to test for clinical use. ‘It would be nice if several prototypes were available for testing to see if they improve outcomes in patients.’
Research in this article was funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). The views of the interviewees don’t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.
Interesting. Over these last few months, I’ve been stumbling across more than my usual number of regenerative medicine stories.
This is what a sensor the size of a grain of salt looks like,
Caption: The sensor network is designed so the chips can be implanted into the body or integrated into wearable devices. Each submillimeter-sized silicon sensor mimics how neurons in the brain communicate through spikes of electrical activity.
Credit: Nick Dentamaro/Brown University
A March 19, 2024 news item on Nanowerk announces this research from Brown University (Rhode Island, US), Note: A link has been removed,
Tiny chips may equal a big breakthrough for a team of scientists led by Brown University engineers.
Writing in Nature Electronics (“An asynchronous wireless network for capturing event-driven data from large populations of autonomous sensors”), the research team describes a novel approach for a wireless communication network that can efficiently transmit, receive and decode data from thousands of microelectronic chips that are each no larger than a grain of salt.
…
One of the potential applications is for brain (neural) implants,
Caption: Writing in Nature Electronics, the research team describes a novel approach for a wireless communication network that can efficiently transmit, receive and decode data from thousands of microelectronic chips that are each no larger than a grain of salt.
Credit: Nick Dentamaro/Brown University
The sensor network is designed so the chips can be implanted into the body or integrated into wearable devices. Each submillimeter-sized silicon sensor mimics how neurons in the brain communicate through spikes of electrical activity. The sensors detect specific events as spikes and then transmit that data wirelessly in real time using radio waves, saving both energy and bandwidth.
“Our brain works in a very sparse way,” said Jihun Lee, a postdoctoral researcher at Brown and study lead author. “Neurons do not fire all the time. They compress data and fire sparsely so that they are very efficient. We are mimicking that structure here in our wireless telecommunication approach. The sensors would not be sending out data all the time — they’d just be sending relevant data as needed as short bursts of electrical spikes, and they would be able to do so independently of the other sensors and without coordinating with a central receiver. By doing this, we would manage to save a lot of energy and avoid flooding our central receiver hub with less meaningful data.”
This radiofrequency [sic] transmission scheme also makes the system scalable and tackles a common problem with current sensor communication networks: they all need to be perfectly synced to work well.
The researchers say the work marks a significant step forward in large-scale wireless sensor technology and may one day help shape how scientists collect and interpret information from these little silicon devices, especially since electronic sensors have become ubiquitous as a result of modern technology.
“We live in a world of sensors,” said Arto Nurmikko, a professor in Brown’s School of Engineering and the study’s senior author. “They are all over the place. They’re certainly in our automobiles, they are in so many places of work and increasingly getting into our homes. The most demanding environment for these sensors will always be inside the human body.”
That’s why the researchers believe the system can help lay the foundation for the next generation of implantable and wearable biomedical sensors. There is a growing need in medicine for microdevices that are efficient, unobtrusive and unnoticeable but that also operate as part of a large ensembles to map physiological activity across an entire area of interest.
“This is a milestone in terms of actually developing this type of spike-based wireless microsensor,” Lee said. “If we continue to use conventional methods, we cannot collect the high channel data these applications will require in these kinds of next-generation systems.”
The events the sensors identify and transmit can be specific occurrences such as changes in the environment they are monitoring, including temperature fluctuations or the presence of certain substances.
The sensors are able to use as little energy as they do because external transceivers supply wireless power to the sensors as they transmit their data — meaning they just need to be within range of the energy waves sent out by the transceiver to get a charge. This ability to operate without needing to be plugged into a power source or battery make them convenient and versatile for use in many different situations.
The team designed and simulated the complex electronics on a computer and has worked through several fabrication iterations to create the sensors. The work builds on previous research from Nurmikko’s lab at Brown that introduced a new kind of neural interface system called “neurograins.” This system used a coordinated network of tiny wireless sensors to record and stimulate brain activity.
“These chips are pretty sophisticated as miniature microelectronic devices, and it took us a while to get here,” said Nurmikko, who is also affiliated with Brown’s Carney Institute for Brain Science. “The amount of work and effort that is required in customizing the several different functions in manipulating the electronic nature of these sensors — that being basically squeezed to a fraction of a millimeter space of silicon — is not trivial.”
The researchers demonstrated the efficiency of their system as well as just how much it could potentially be scaled up. They tested the system using 78 sensors in the lab and found they were able to collect and send data with few errors, even when the sensors were transmitting at different times. Through simulations, they were able to show how to decode data collected from the brains of primates using about 8,000 hypothetically implanted sensors.
The researchers say next steps include optimizing the system for reduced power consumption and exploring broader applications beyond neurotechnology.
“The current work provides a methodology we can further build on,” Lee said.
Prior to this, 2021 seems to have been a banner year for Nurmikko’s lab. There’s this August 12, 2021 Brown University news release touting publication of a then new study in Nature Electronics and I have an April 2, 2021 post, “BrainGate demonstrates a high-bandwidth wireless brain-computer interface (BCI),” touting an earlier 2021 published study from the lab.
That’s quite a mouthful, ‘implantable brain-computer interface collaborative community (iBCI-CC). I assume the organization will be popularly known by its abbreviation.`A March 11, 2024 Mass General Brigham news release (also on EurekAlert) announces the iBCI-CC’s launch, Note: Mass stands for Massachusetts,
Mass General Brigham is establishing the Implantable Brain-Computer Interface Collaborative Community (iBCI-CC). This is the first Collaborative Community in the clinical neurosciences that has participation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
BCIs are devices that interface with the nervous system and use software to interpret neural activity. Commonly, they are designed for improved access to communication or other technologies for people with physical disability. Implantable BCIs are investigational devices that hold the promise of unlocking new frontiers in restorative neurotechnology, offering potential breakthroughs in neurorehabilitation and in restoring function for people living with neurologic disease or injury.
The iBCI-CC (https://www.ibci-cc.org/) is a groundbreaking initiative aimed at fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders to accelerate the development, safety and accessibility of iBCI technologies. The iBCI-CC brings together researchers, clinicians, medical device manufacturers, patient advocacy groups and individuals with lived experience of neurological conditions. This collaborative effort aims to propel the field of iBCIs forward by employing harmonized approaches that drive continuous innovation and ensure equitable access to these transformative technologies.
One of the first milestones for the iBCI-CC was to engage the participation of the FDA. “Brain-computer interfaces have the potential to restore lost function for patients suffering from a variety of neurological conditions. However, there are clinical, regulatory, coverage and payment questions that remain, which may impede patient access to this novel technology,” said David McMullen, M.D., Director of the Office of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), and FDA member of the iBCI-CC. “The IBCI-CC will serve as an open venue to identify, discuss and develop approaches for overcoming these hurdles.”
The iBCI-CC will hold regular meetings open both to its members and the public to ensure inclusivity and transparency. Mass General Brigham will serve as the convener of the iBCI-CC, providing administrative support and ensuring alignment with the community’s objectives.
Over the past year, the iBCI-CC was organized by the interdisciplinary collaboration of leaders including Leigh Hochberg, MD, PhD, an internationally respected leader in BCI development and clinical testing and director of the Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery at Massachusetts General Hospital; Jennifer French, MBA, executive director of the Neurotech Network and a Paralympic silver medalist; and Joe Lennerz, MD, PhD, a regulatory science expert and director of the Pathology Innovation Collaborative Community. These three organizers lead a distinguished group of Charter Signatories representing a diverse range of expertise and organizations.
“As a neurointensive care physician, I know how many patients with neurologic disorders could benefit from these devices,” said Dr. Hochberg. “Increasing discoveries in academia and the launch of multiple iBCI and related neurotech companies means that the time is right to identify common goals and metrics so that iBCIs are not only safe and effective, but also have thoroughly considered the design and function preferences of the people who hope to use them”.
Jennifer French, said, “Bringing diverse perspectives together, including those with lived experience, is a critical component to help address complex issues facing this field.” French has decades of experience working in the neurotech and patient advocacy fields. Living with a spinal cord injury, she also uses an implanted neurotech device for daily functions. “This ecosystem of neuroscience is on the cusp to collectively move the field forward by addressing access to the latest groundbreaking technology, in an equitable and ethical way. We can’t wait to engage and recruit the broader BCI community.”
Joe Lennerz, MD, PhD, emphasized, “Engaging in pre-competitive initiatives offers an often-overlooked avenue to drive meaningful progress. The collaboration of numerous thought leaders plays a pivotal role, with a crucial emphasis on regulatory engagement to unlock benefits for patients.”
The iBCI-CC is supported by key stakeholders within the Mass General Brigham system. Merit Cudkowicz, MD, MSc, chair of the Neurology Department, director of the Sean M. Healey and AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Julianne Dorn Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, said, “There is tremendous excitement in the ALS [amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease] community for new devices that could ease and improve the ability of people with advanced ALS to communicate with their family, friends, and care partners. This important collaborative community will help to speed the development of a new class of neurologic devices to help our patients.”
Bailey McGuire, program manager of strategy and operations at Mass General Brigham’s Data Science Office, said, “We are thrilled to convene the iBCI-CC at Mass General Brigham’s DSO. By providing an administrative infrastructure, we want to help the iBCI-CC advance regulatory science and accelerate the availability of iBCI solutions that incorporate novel hardware and software that can benefit individuals with neurological conditions. We’re excited to help in this incredible space.”
Mass General Brigham is an integrated academic health care system, uniting great minds to solve the hardest problems in medicine for our communities and the world. Mass General Brigham connects a full continuum of care across a system of academic medical centers, community and specialty hospitals, a health insurance plan, physician networks, community health centers, home care, and long-term care services. Mass General Brigham is a nonprofit organization committed to patient care, research, teaching, and service to the community. In addition, Mass General Brigham is one of the nation’s leading biomedical research organizations with several Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals. For more information, please visit massgeneralbrigham.org.
About the iBCI-CC Organizers:
Leigh Hochberg, MD, PhD is a neurointensivist at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Neurology, where he directs the MGH Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery. He is also the IDE Sponsor-Investigator and Directorof the BrainGate clinical trials, conducted by a consortium of scientists and clinicians at Brown, Emory, MGH, VA Providence, Stanford, and UC-Davis; the L. Herbert Ballou University Professor of Engineering and Professor of Brain Science at Brown University; Senior Lecturer on Neurology at Harvard Medical School; and Associate Director, VA RR&D Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology in Providence.
Jennifer French, MBA, is the Executive Director of Neurotech Network, a nonprofit organization that focuses on education and advocacy of neurotechnologies. She serves on several Boards including the IEEE Neuroethics Initiative, Institute of Neuroethics, OpenMind platform, BRAIN Initiative Multi-Council and Neuroethics Working Groups, and the American Brain Coalition. She is the author of On My Feet Again (Neurotech Press, 2013) and is co-author of Bionic Pioneers (Neurotech Press, 2014). French lives with tetraplegia due to a spinal cord injury. She is an early user of an experimental implanted neural prosthesis for paralysis and is the Past-President and Founding member of the North American SCI Consortium.
Joe Lennerz, MD PhD, serves as the Chief Scientific Officer at BostonGene, an AI analytics and genomics startup based in Boston. Dr. Lennerz obtained a PhD in neurosciences, specializing in electrophysiology. He works on biomarker development and migraine research. Additionally, he is the co-founder and leader of the Pathology Innovation Collaborative Community, a regulatory science initiative focusing on diagnostics and software as a medical device (SaMD), convened by the Medical Device Innovation Consortium. He also serves as the co-chair of the federal Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) advisory panel to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Personality in focus: the convergence of biology and computer technology could make extremely sensitive data available. (Image: by-studio / AdobeStock) [downloaded from https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2024/05/digi-nano-bio-neuro-or-why-we-should-care-more-about-converging-technologies.html]
I gave a guest lecture some years ago where I mentioned that I thought the real issue with big data and AI (artificial intelligence) lay in combining them (or convergence). These days, it seems I was insufficiently imaginative as researchers from ETH Zurich have taken the notion much further.
From a May 7, 2024 ETH Zurich press release (also on EurekAlert), Note: You’ll see in the ‘References’ some extra words, ‘external page’ is self-explanatory but ‘call made’ remains a mystery to me,
In my research, I [Dirk Helbing, Professor of Computational Social Science at the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences and associated with the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich.] deal with the consequences of digitalisation for people, society and democracy. In this context, it is also important to keep an eye on their convergence in computer and life sciences – i.e. what becomes possible when digital technologies grow increasingly together with biotechnology, neurotechnology and nanotechnology.
Converging technologies are seen as a breeding ground for far-reaching innovations. However, they are blurring the boundaries between the physical, biological and digital worlds. Conventional regulations are becoming ineffective as a result.
In a joint study I conducted with my co-author Marcello Ienca, we have recently examined the risks and societal challenges of technological convergence – and concluded that the effects for individuals and society are far-reaching.
We would like to draw attention to the challenges and risks of converging technologies and explain why we consider it necessary to accompany technological developments internationally with strict regulations.
For several years now, everyone has been able to observe, within the context of digitalisation, the consequences of leaving technological change to market forces alone without effective regulation.
Misinformation and manipulation on the web
The Digital Manifesto was published in 2015 – almost ten years ago.1 Nine European experts, including one from ETH Zurich, issued an urgent warning against scoring, i.e. the evaluation of people, and big nudging,2 a subtle form of digital manipulation. The latter is based on personality profiles created using cookies and other surveillance data. A little later, the Cambridge Analytica scandal alerted the world to how the data analysis company had been using personalised ads (microtargeting) in an attempt to manipulate voting behaviour in democratic elections.
This has brought democracies around the world under considerable pressure. Propaganda, fake news and hate speech are polarising and sowing doubt, while privacy is on the decline. We are in the midst of an international information war for control of our minds, in which advertising companies, tech corporations, secret services and the military are fighting to exert an influence on our mindset and behaviour. The European Union has adopted the AI Act in an attempt to curb these dangers.
However, digital technologies have developed at a breathtaking pace, and new possibilities for manipulation are already emerging. The merging of digital and nanotechnology with modern biotechnology and neurotechnology makes revolutionary applications possible that had been hardly imaginable before.
Microrobots for precision medicine
In personalised medicine, for example, the advancing miniaturisation of electronics is making it increasingly possible to connect living organisms and humans with networked sensors and computing power. The WEF [World Economic Forum] proclaimed the “Internet of Bodies” as early as 2020.3,4
One example that combines conventional medication with a monitoring function is digital pills. These could control medication and record a patient’s physiological data (see this blog post).
Experts expect sensor technology to reach the nanoscale. Magnetic nanoparticles or nanoelectronic components, i.e. tiny particles invisible to the naked eye with a diameter up to 100 nanometres, would make it possible to transport active substances, interact with cells and record vast amounts of data on bodily functions. If introduced into the body, it is hoped that diseases could be detected at an early stage and treated in a personalised manner. This is often referred to as high-precision medicine.
Nano-electrodes record brain function
Miniaturised electrodes that can simultaneously measure and manipulate the activity of thousands of neurons coupled with ever-improving AI tools for the analysis of brain signals are approaches that are now leading to much-discussed advances in the brain-computer interface. Brain activity mapping is also on the agenda. Thanks to nano-neurotechnology, we could soon envisage smartphones and other AI applications being controlled directly by thoughts.
“Long before precision medicine and neurotechnology work reliably, these technologies will be able to be used against people.” Dirk Helbling
Large-scale projects to map the human brain are also likely to benefit from this.5 In future, brain activity mapping will not only be able to read our thoughts and feelings but also make them possible of being influenced remotely – the latter would probably be a lot more effective than previous manipulation methods like big nudging.
However, conventional electrodes are not suitable for permanent connection between cells and electronics – this requires durable and biocompatible interfaces. This has given rise to the suggestion of transmitting signals optogenetically, i.e. to control genes in special cells with light pulses.6 This would make the implementation of amazing circuits possible (see this ETH News article [November 11, 2014 press release] “Controlling genes with thoughts” ).
The downside of convergence
Admittedly, the applications mentioned above may sound futuristic, with most of them still visions or in their early stages of development. However, a lot of research is being conducted worldwide and at full speed. The military is also interested in using converging technologies for its own purposes. 7, 8
The downside of convergence is the considerable risks involved, such as state or private players gaining access to highly sensitive data and misusing it to monitor and influence people. The more connected our bodies become, the more vulnerable we will be to cybercrime and hacking. It cannot be ruled out that military applications exist already.5 One thing is clear, however: long before precision medicine and neurotechnology work reliably, these technologies will be able to be used against people.
“We need to regain control of our personal data. To do this, we need genuine informational self-determination.” Dirk Helbling
The problem is that existing regulations are specific and insufficient to keep technological convergence in check. But how are we to retain control over our lives if it becomes increasingly possible to influence our thoughts, feelings and decisions by digital means?
Converging global regulation is needed
In our recent paper we conclude that any regulation of converging technologies would have to be based on converging international regulations. Accordingly, we outline a new global regulatory framework and propose ten governance principles to close the looming regulatory gap. 9
The framework emphasises the need for safeguards to protect bodily and mental functions from unauthorised interference and to ensure personal integrity and privacy by, for example. establishing neurorights.
To minimise risks and prevent abuse, future regulations should be inclusive, transparent and trustworthy. The principle of participatory governance is key, which would have to involve all the relevant groups and ensure that the concerns of affected minorities are also taken into account in decision-making processes.
Finally, we need to regain control of our personal data. To accomplish this, we need genuine informational self-determination. This would also have to apply to the digital twins of our body and personality, because they can be used to hack our health and our way of thinking – for good or for bad.10
With our contribution, we would like to initiate public debate about converging technologies. Despite its major relevance, we believe that too little attention is being paid to this topic. Continuous discourse on benefits, risks and sensible rules can help to steer technological convergence in such a way that it serves people instead of harming them.
Dirk Helbing wrote this article together with external page Marcello Ienca call_made, who previously worked at ETH Zurich and EPFL and is now Assistant Professor of Ethics of AI and Neuroscience at the Technical University of Munich.
Prostheses that connect to the nervous system have been available for several years. Now, researchers at ETH Zurich have found evidence that neuroprosthetics work better when they use signals that are inspired by nature.
In brief
*Neuroprostheses are electro-mechanical devices that are connected to the nervous system. As yet, these are unable to provide natural communication with the brain. Instead, they often evoke artificial, unpleasant sensations, similar to a feeling of tingles over the skin. *This paraesthesia might be caused by overstimulation of the nervous system. ETH Zurich researchers together with colleagues in Germany, Serbia and Russia have proposed that neuroprosthetics should transmit biomimetic signals that are easier for the brain to understand. *These new findings are relevant to arm and leg prostheses as well as various other aids and devices, including spinal implants and electrodes for brain stimulation.
A few years ago, a team of researchers working under Professor Stanisa Raspopovic at the ETH Zurich Neuroengineering Lab gained worldwide attention when they announced that their prosthetic legs had enabled amputees to feel sensations from this artificial body part for the first time. Unlike commercial leg prostheses, which simply provide amputees with stability and support, the ETH researchers’ prosthetic device was connected to the sciatic nerve in the test subjects’ thigh via implanted electrodes.
This electrical connection enabled the neuroprosthesis to communicate with the patient’s brain, for example relaying information on the constant changes in pressure detected on the sole of the prosthetic foot when walking. This gave the test subjects greater confidence in their prosthesis – and it enabled them to walk considerably faster on challenging terrains. “Our experimental leg prosthesis succeeded in evoking natural sensations. That’s something current neuroprostheses are mainly unable to do; instead, they mostly evoke artificial, unpleasant sensations,” Raspopovic says.
This is probably because today’s neuroprosthetics are using time-constant electrical pulses to stimulate the nervous system. “That’s not only unnatural, but also inefficient,” Raspopovic says. In a recently published paper, he and his team used the example of their leg prostheses to highlight the benefits of using naturally inspired, biomimetic stimulation to develop the next generation of neuroprosthetics.
Model simulates activation of nerves in the sole
To generate these biomimetic signals, Natalija Katic – a doctoral student in Raspopovic’s research group – developed a computer model called FootSim. It is based on data collected by collaborators in Canada, who recorded the activity of natural receptors, named mechanoreceptors, in the sole of the foot while touching different points on the feet of volunteers with a vibrating rod.
The model simulates the dynamic behaviour of large numbers of mechanoreceptors in the sole of the foot and generates the neural signals that shoot up the nerves in the leg towards the brain – from the moment the heel strikes the ground and the weight of the body starts to shift forward to the outside of the foot until the toes push off the ground ready for the next step. “Thanks to this model, we can see how semsory receptors from the sole, and the connected nerves, behave during walking or running, which is experimentally impossible to measure” Katic says.
Information overload in the spinal cord
To assess how closely the biomimetic signals calculated by the model correspond to the signals emitted by real neurons, Giacomo Valle – a postdoc in Raspopovic’s research group – worked with colleagues in Germany, Serbia and Russia on experiments with cats, whose nervous system processes movement in a similar way to that of humans. The experiments took place in 2019 at the Pavlov Institute of Physiology in St. Petersburg and were carried out in accordance with the relevant European Union guidelines.
The researchers implanted electrodes, connecting some to the nerve in the leg and some to the spinal cord to discover how the signals are transmitted through the nervous system. When the researchers applied pressure to the bottom of the cat’s paw, thereby evoking the natural neural response that occurs when a cat takes a step, the peculiar pattern of activity recorded in the spinal cord did indeed resemble the patterns that were elicited in the spinal cord when the researchers stimulated the leg nerve with biomimetic signals.
By contrast, the conventional approach of time-constant stimulation of the sciatic nerve in the cat’s thigh elicited a markedly different pattern of activation in the spinal cord. “This clearly shows that the commonly used stimulation methods cause the neural networks in the spine to be flooded with information,” Valle says. “This information overload could be the reason for the unpleasant sensations or paraesthesia reported by some users of neuroprosthetics,” Raspopovic adds.
Learning the language of the nervous system
In their clinical trial with leg amputees, the researchers were able to show that biomimetic stimulation is superior to time-constant stimulation. Their work clearly demonstrated how the signals that mimicked nature produced better results: not only were the test subjects able to climb steps faster, they also made fewer mistakes in a task that required them to climb the same steps while spelling words backwards. “Biomimetic neurostimulation allows subjects to concentrate on other things while walking,” Raspopovic says, “so we concluded that this type of stimulation is more naturally processed and less taxing on the brain.”
Raspopovic, whose lab forms part of the ETH Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, believes that these new findings are not only relevant to the limb prostheses he and his team have been working on for over half a decade. He argues that the need to move away from unnatural, time-constant stimulation towards biomimetic signals also applies to a whole series of other aids and devices, including spinal implants and electrodes for brain stimulation. “We need to learn the language of the nervous system,” Raspopovic says. “Then we’ll be able to communicate with the brain in ways it really understands.”
It was a bit of a surprise to see mention of some Canadian collaborators with regard to the earlier work featuring FootSim, a computer model Here’s a link to and a citation to that paper, this version is housed at ETH Zurich,
Modeling foot sole cutaneous afferents: FootSim by Natalija Katic, Rodrigo Kazu Siqueira, Luke Cleland, Nicholas Strzalkowski, Leah Bent, Stanisa Raspopovic, and Hannes Saal. Originally published in: iScience 26(1), DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105874 Publication date: 2023-01-20 Permanent link: https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000591102
