DISSOLVING ELECTRONICS
The technology would allow doctors to monitor patients' condition and apply appropriate treatment from inside the body, without the need to remove it afterwards.
Devices which could internally measure patients' temperature and muscle activity, and apply treatments such as heat therapy or release drugs, would help doctors spot and treat problems like infection after surgery.
But electronic implants are not commonly used in surgery because of fears about the long-term effect they could have if left the patient's body for a long time.
Most electronic devices are built to last indefinitely, but researchers from Northwestern University in the US designed a silicon and magnesium circuit just a few millionths of a centimetre thick which is easily and harmlessly absorbed by body fluids.
By coating the circuit in silk proteins of different thicknesses, they found they could accurately design the circuit to degrade within anything from a few days to several months.
Devices which could internally measure patients' temperature and muscle activity, and apply treatments such as heat therapy or release drugs, would help doctors spot and treat problems like infection after surgery.
But electronic implants are not commonly used in surgery because of fears about the long-term effect they could have if left the patient's body for a long time.
Most electronic devices are built to last indefinitely, but researchers from Northwestern University in the US designed a silicon and magnesium circuit just a few millionths of a centimetre thick which is easily and harmlessly absorbed by body fluids.
By coating the circuit in silk proteins of different thicknesses, they found they could accurately design the circuit to degrade within anything from a few days to several months.
Replies
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sowmiya vdA trial on mice found that the implants were able to deliver an antibacterial drug to surgical wounds, and had almost entirely dissolved three weeks later.
The technology could also be used to develop mobile phones and other gadgets that are programmed to dissolve after a set number of years, rather than becoming landfill, experts said.
Prof Yonggang Huang, who led the research, said: "These electronics are there when you need them, and after they've served their purpose they disappear. This is a completely new concept. -
Jeffrey Arulraj#-Link-Snipped-# Sir is it really that effective if the effect is limited to a particular time alone will the impact not be localised need some clarifications in it
PS : My bio is literally 0 kindly bear with me -
sowmiya vdit is made off thin sheets of magnesium and silicon so Mg and Si present naturally in the human body so it can be absorbed without causing any harm
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Ramani AswathThe problem with biomedical work is that only time can tell if a particular development will really work inside the body or not. One has to look at teratogenic and mutagenic effects. These relate to changes in individuals DNA leading to congenital malformations and mutations in offspring. Also potential carcinogenic effects.
Not all reported developments become marketable devices. -
Jeffrey ArulrajThanks both of you for clearing me out
Heard Si in native form can damage the Lungs and heart so is it worth using it in medicine
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