A groundbreaking graphene-based brain chip is set to begin its first clinical trial at Salford Royal Hospital in the UK, marking a potential paradigm shift in the surgical treatment of brain tumors. The device, leveraging the unique conductive properties of graphene, aims to precisely differentiate between cancerous and healthy brain cells by detecting variations in their electrical emissions.
First Clinical Trial of Graphene-Based Medical Device
Kostas Kostarelos, a professor of nanomedicine at Manchester University and a leader of the research team, emphasized the significance of this trial: "This is the first ever clinical trial to be performed anywhere in the world with a graphene-based medical device." The brain-computer interface (BCI) device, developed by an international team, is designed to enhance the monitoring of electrical impulses in the brain by capturing frequencies that were previously undetectable.
Improved Surgical Precision
The primary application of the graphene chip is to improve the accuracy of brain tumor surgery. "Its first use will be to differentiate cancer cells from healthy cells to ensure that surgery on brain tumours is directed in a highly accurate way," Kostarelos stated. The chip, about the size of a postage stamp, is placed on the surface of the brain after a piece of the skull is removed. It then emits electrical signals to stimulate brain cells, with receivers that pick up the cells' responses. Cancer cells respond differently to this stimulation compared to healthy neurons, allowing surgeons to pinpoint the precise location of the tumor.
Addressing a Critical Need
Brain tumors pose a significant health challenge, with over 12,700 diagnoses and more than 5,000 deaths annually in the UK. The ability to more accurately remove tumors, especially those located in critical areas of the brain, could substantially improve patient outcomes. "Anything we can do to improve these rates will be a major achievement," added Kostarelos.
Broader Applications Beyond Cancer
Beyond its immediate application in tumor surgery, the research team believes the BCI chip holds promise for studying other neurological conditions, including stroke and epilepsy. The chip's ability to detect very high and very low frequency signals opens new avenues for understanding how brain cells function and interact in both healthy and diseased states. Low frequency signals are known to be emitted by cells in affected areas of the brain following strokes and epileptic fits, and this technology provides a novel way to investigate these events.
How the Chip Works
The graphene chip contains thousands of electrical contacts and can detect a wide range of electrical signals, including those of very high and very low frequencies that are typically difficult to monitor in the living brain. According to Kostarelos, the chip's ability to differentiate the response of cancer cells from healthy neuronal cells allows surgical teams to identify neurons very close to a tumor, which is particularly important when the tumor is located in sensitive areas of the brain, such as those involved in speech.
A Milestone in Neural Decoding
Carolina Aguilar, co-founder of Inbrain Neuroelectronics, the company established to commercialize graphene-based brain research and treatment, hailed the trial as "a clinical milestone that paves the way for advancements in both neural decoding and its application as a therapeutic intervention."
