Diagnostics

Wireless injectable computer could deliver more accurate reading of tumor pressure

Engineering researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a battery-operated injectable computer with a radio antenna that can transmit data to a device located up to 12 inches outside of the body.

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Engineering researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a battery-operated injectable computer with a radio antenna that can transmit data to a device located up to 12 inches outside of the body. The miniature computer can be injected into tissue using a medical syringe.

The next step is testing the minuscule computer in animal and tissue models to determine its effectiveness for measuring the pressure inside tumors, as well as other medical applications, explained David Wentzloff, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan. Wentzloff developed the computer in collaboration with his colleagues David Blaauw and Dennis Sylvester, as well as with graduate students. The injectable computer was developed as part of the University of Michigan’s Micro Mote project, in which engineering researchers are developing miniature computers designed to boost the evolution of the Internet of Things.

Using the injectable computer to gauge the pressure inside tumors can provide accurate measurements of tumor size, which could be used to track the effectiveness of cancer treatments, Wentzloff explained.

“The size of a tumor is directly correlated to the pressure of the tumor,” he said. “When you are administering chemotherapy, you can use pressure as a way of measuring the progress of the treatment. The primary challenge there is when you inject a device to try to measure the pressure, when scar tissue forms you are not getting a good reading. These millimeter-scaled injectable sensors are a minimally invasive way to measure the pressure inside a cancerous tissue.”

Other potential applications, Wentzloff said, could be continuously measuring a person’s temperature, checking a person’s eye pressure to assess their risk for glaucoma or monitoring the glucose level of a person with diabetes.

Tiny sensor technology has been around for a while, Wentzloff noted. Such technology has been used for years, for example, in pet microchips and credit cards embedded with chips. Such chips, however, are “passive” computers that do not have their own power source and must be activated by an external sensor, Wentzloff explained.

In contrast, the injectable computer designed by the University of Michigan researchers has a sensor, processor, battery, radio and antenna. This means the computer can be inserted into tissue and transmit data for weeks or even months.

Once testing is complete, Wenztloff said, he and his colleagues hope to obtain approval for the computer and market it through their start-up company, Cubeworks.

Photo: University of Michigan

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