Engineers and neuroscientists from the谢菲尔德大学,St Petersburg State University， 和Technische Universität Dresden已经开发了3D印刷的原型神经植入物，该神经植入物可能会治疗神经系统损伤，例如瘫痪。
发出一种科幻氛围,implant combines biology and electronics to, in essence, link the human brain to a computer as a method of treating neurological conditions.
“The research we have started at TU Dresden and continuing here at Sheffield has demonstrated how 3D printing can be harnessed to produce prototype implants at speed and cost that hasn’t been done before, all whilst maintaining the standards needed to develop a useful device,” said Ivan Minev, professor of intelligent healthcare technologies at the University of Sheffield’s Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering.
Additive manufacturing and neural implants
While brain-computer interfaces or neural-control interface research has been around since the 1970s, one of the highest profile developments in neural brain implants to date came from the launch of billionaire Elon Musk’s ‘brain-hacking’Neuralink芯片。Neuralink最终还旨在将人脑与计算机联系起来。Grimes的男朋友demonstrated this ambition earlier this year当他在网络广播上直播一只猪，该猪的大脑中嵌入了一枚硬币大小的薯条。
Elsewhere, researchers atMassachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) have used 3D printing to developsoft, flexible brain electrodes这符合大脑的轮廓和监测长时间的活动，而不会加重周围组织。这项技术可以帮助监测帕金森氏病和严重抑郁症等疾病。
In a slightly different vane, engineering technologies firmRenishawhas also been working on a medical neural implant, although for the delivery of medicinal drugs as opposed to electrical impulses. Itsneuroinfuse drug delivery deviceis currently the only platform to facilitate repeated, intermittent drug infusions into an organ’s functional tissue, and has been trialed in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
神经植入物
Utilizing 3D printing, the team of scientists were able to make the prototype implants faster and more cost-effectively than had been achieved previously. Significantly, the technology-enabled the implant to be customized to suit pinpointed areas within the nervous system.
Through ink-jet deposition and extrusion-based additive manufacturing methods, the 3D printer applies layers of biocompatible, mechanically soft materials to produce the implant. The flexibility of this process means neuroscientists can test their treatment ideas more quickly and cheaply, and designs can be speedily adapted to accommodate changes.
MineV解释说：“ 3D打印的功率意味着可以根据需要快速更改和复制原型植入物，以帮助推动神经界面中的研究和创新。”
在研究期间，研究人员证明植入物可以很好地适应各种神经表面，例如大脑，脊髓，周围神经和肌肉。该植入物还被用来成功刺激动物模型的脊髓，例如大鼠和斑马鱼，脊髓损伤，研究人员认为，这可能为人类患者的未来麻痹治疗铺平道路。
For this to become a reality, the implants need to be able to sense and supply tiny electrical impulses to the brain and nervous system. Throughout the study, the scientists showed that it is possible to produce 3D printed implants that can communicate with these areas of the body, opening up the possible applications for neural interfaces of this nature.
神经植入物应用和抱负
Innovation in the field of neural interfaces is often impeded by the high costs and lengthy development time of producing prototypes, which are key to investigating new treatments.
Demonstrated in the study, 3D printing has significantly sped up this process and cut costs. The next step will see the scientists establish the robustness of the devices when implanted for extended time periods. In the longer term, the team hopes to widen the possibilities of personalized treatments to neurosurgeons.
Minev补充说：“患者有不同的解剖学，植入物必须适合于此及其特定的临床需求。”“也许将来，植入物将在患者准备手术时直接印刷在手术室中。”
More information on the study can be found in the article “软生物电源植入物的快速原型用于神经肌肉界面” in the Nature Biomedical Engineering journal. The study was co-authored by D. Afanasenkau, D. Kalinina, V. Lyakhovetskii, C. Tondera, O. Gorsky, S. Moosavi, N. Pavlova, N. Merkulyeva, A. Kalueff, I. Minev, and P. Musienko.
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Featured image shows Neural interfaces could lead to the next generation of medical treatments for patients with nervous system problems. Image via Sheffield.ac.uk.
