Electronics 0.065mm2
The size of the world’s smallest injectable microchip, designed by Chen Shi.
Columbia University
The chip designed by Chen hasn’t reached the clinical trial stage yet, so it’s too early to say exactly how it will perform in vivo, but experiments on mice have returned favourable results. “For demonstration, we implant the devices in the limbs of mice and perform two sets of experiments,” Chen says. “One is to monitor the core body temperature, to show that the device can accurately acquire the body temperature of an animal; [the other is] to run modulation experiments with ultrasound [to] research the temperature behaviour of the activation site.” In both sets of experiments, the chips are performing well and Chen is hopeful for the future of his device. “I do see large potentials for this technology,” he says. “I envision that we can actually leverage this technology to develop very tiny, wireless injectables that can be delivered into living bodies to perform real-time monitoring of all the essential, physiological signals to assess diagnostic and therapeutic applications.”
Next steps
Are there any obstacles facing the development, production or use of these tiny chips? There are teething problems, Chen admits – such as stabilising the orientation of the device once implanted, or learning how to efficiently harvest ultrasound energy and transmit data at sufficiently deep implantation sites – and there are questions that still need to be answered, particularly in terms of physical impact and longevity. But such issues are to be expected in these early stages, and the initial findings look promising. What’s more, though still at the experimental stage, both Andersson and Chen agree that once the chips have been mass produced, they’re unlikely to be too costly. This
means when they do hit the markets, we should begin to see them with a degree of familiarity. But will they become widespread in healthcare? “It’s very difficult to say,” Andersson admits, “but I think we definitely will see a lot more of this.” The real question it seems, for both Chen and Andersson, isn’t if the technology can work – the trials so far suggest, that it does – but how best to harness it. “If we can find good applications,” Andersson notes, “where we can show this is actually better than using ear thermometers for home monitoring, for instance, then we could really argue that this is an important tool for clinical consultations from home.” The question we should be asking, he adds, is how can we use these devices “in combination with other implants and wearables” in order to gather more information about the state of a patient? Chen’s next step is to explore the possible medical applications of his device. “For temperature, we are just trying to do a proof of concept of this technology and this platform,” he explains. “But we want to extend it to other physiological signals as well, such as pH, blood pressure, blood glucose, blood oxygen, etcetera. We can modify this tiny device to achieve small-scale physiological monitoring. We are not only constrained to temperature: this is just the first version.”
If it seems like something that belongs to the future, that’s probably because it is; though, not in the way we might expect. Traditionally, technology emerges out of a need, but, in the case of these tiny chips, it seems that application must follow design: we have the means, but what exactly are the uses? That much remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: there’s a world of potential in a grain of sand – or something the size of one. ●
CHASSIS MOUNT AC/DC POWER SUPPLIES
low profile design
open frame or encapsulated module
Operating temperature: -40° to +85°C
OVCIII, 4 kVAC/1min reinforced isolation
4000m/5000m (medical/ITE) operating altitude
2MOPP medical certified, B and BF compliant
Class B EMC filter built-in
WE POWER YOUR PRODUCTS
recom-power.com/racm
86
Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
2.0“
3.0“
3.0“
1.0“
1.1“
1.6“
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170
