Miniature Battery-Free Implants for Distributed Bioelectronic Networks

Direct neural and cardiac stimulation is a powerful method to treat disorders when drug therapies are ineffective, or their side effects are intolerable. Unfortunately, traditional implantable stimulation technologies are based on wires that connect the stimulator to the target, which can lead to challenges for writing the wires, lead fractions, migration, and infection. This is particularly true when attempting to interact with a network of devices.<br/><br/>Here, we describe how magnetoelectric materials enable construction of distributed network interfaces with each node the size of a pea or smaller and capable of digitally programmable stimulation. With robust wireless data and power transfer it is possible to make miniature implants less than 1 cm across with the ability to deliver biphasic stimulation powerful enough to drive neural activity from above the dura.As an example, we show applications in brain and cardiac stimulation neuromodulation where minimally invasive devices can form a network of precisely timed stimulators. Our data from large animal and human studies show the kind of good misalignment tolerance and high-power bioelectronics capabilities that would enable networks of wireless, battery-free, neuromodulation technologies.