Writing an ‘Electrical Prescription’ for biosensing ‘neural dust’

How can sensors better communicate with and regulate the central nervous system (CNS)? DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), which is part of the US Department of Defense, is on the case with research on miniaturized electronics suitable for chronic use for biosensing and neuromodulation of peripheral nerves in the Electrical Prescriptions (ElectRx) program.  A DARPA-funded ElectRx research team led by the University of California, Berkeley’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences has developed what they term ‘neural dust’–a millimeter-scale wireless device small enough to be implanted in individual nerves, using ultrasound for power coupling and communication. In vivo test results on rodents have been published in the peer-reviewed neuroscience journal Neuron. A nice return to Armed With Science, which has been bereft of device or robotics news for months.