US researchers have developed a device to treat infections wirelessly. An electronic implant (illustrated) was activated by a wireless signal. It used a heater to treat tissue that had been infected with staph. And one researcher said it could be a precursor to drugs being delivered via Wi-Fi activation in the future.
The heating device in the implants (illustrated) has a resistor and power-receiving coil made of magnesium, and the magnesium is wrapped in 'packet' of silk, keeping it safe and controlling its dissolution time. The ability of the device to dissolve is important, as it means such implants would not need to be removed.
Who ensures the implant is what it is supposed to be? Will criminals adopt this means of poisoning their targets?
[From article]
Researchers have developed a method to activate electronic implants in the body and eliminate bacterial infections using a wireless signal.
When triggered by remote technology, the gadget delivers heat to infected tissue.
And it could lead to technologies that enable drugs and treatment to be delivered to patients at the press of a button.
The technology was developed by researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts and the University of Illinois.
Mice were given electronic implants that, when a signal was sent, heated up to treat tissue that was infected with staphylococcus, or staph, which can cause minor skin abscesses or life-threatening infections of the blood.
Tissues collected from the mice 24 hours after treatment showed no sign of the infection, while the device dissolved in 15 days, proving it can not only treat infections but also be disposed of easily.
[. . .]
But these new wireless therapy devices can handle the surgical process, and can then dissolve in minutes or weeks, depending on the time needed.
'This is an important demonstration step forward for the development of on-demand medical devices that can be turned on remotely to perform a therapeutic function in a patient and then safely disappear after their use, requiring no retrieval,' said senior author Fiorenzo Omenetto, professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts School of Engineering.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
Could Wi-Fi be used to treat INFECTIONS? Electronic implant kills off bug using a wireless technology
US researchers have developed a device to treat infections wirelessly
An electronic implant was activated by a wireless signal
It used a heater to treat tissue that had been infected with staph
This is a potentially life-threatening condition that affects the blood
The tests removed any sign of the infection in 24 hours
And the senior author of the study Professor Fiorenzo Omenetto said it could 'pave the way for eventual Wi-Fi drug delivery'
By JONATHAN O'CALLAGHAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 07:14 EST, 26 November 2014 | UPDATED: 08:22 EST, 26 November 2014
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