What is NeuroWorm? How can it help treatment of neurological diseases?

Close to 18 months before her death, my mother was unconscious and bedridden and couldn’t move her hands and legs. She was suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Many nights, I used to lose sleep brooding over my mother’s physical condition. Is she feeling thirsty? What can she do if her back feels itchy? Are her legs and hands aching? I thought she might have suffered a lot as she was unable to speak or produce sounds. These thoughts were nightmares for me even one year after my mother’s death. 

What’s BCI? 
A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a system that uses cutting-edge technology to decode the thoughts and needs of a bedridden person who can’t communicate. BCI reads neural signals and converts them into computer-friendly data, which is used to activate a machine or piece of equipment. BCI helps people who have had paralytic attacks or who are bedridden following accidents to regain their mobility and communication skills. It also helps in learning the nuances of brain functions. 

Electrodes play a pivotal role in neural implants, including BCI. Electrodes are small pads and wires attached to the chest, hands, and legs while an ECG is recorded to check the heart's function. But complex electrodes are needed to monitor brain function. And these electrodes are the main centres that connect the nervous system to the computers.

Presently, BCI uses implanted, surgically placed electrodes. These electrodes, which are fixed in a corner of the brain's limited space, record neuronal signals emanating from the brain. Over time, their efficiency would dip and sometimes fail. And this can be a stumbling block in the far-reaching possibilities of BCI. As the signals are recorded from a limited space, they can’t be a total success. 

Breakthrough technology 
Bringing cheer to many, the Chinese scientists have developed a new technology to overcome these challenges. They have created a fibre electrode called ‘NeuroWorm’, which is soft, can navigate freely, and has a longer lifespan. Instead of sourcing limited data, ‘NeuroWorms’ can move around and collect more information from the nervous system. 

As part of the research, the scientists implanted a ‘NeuroWorm’ into the rat's leg muscles for 43 weeks. To the scientists' glee, accurate signals were logged throughout the period. Moreover, the researchers guided a ‘NeuroWorm’ through a rabbit’s brain, from the cortex to subcortical regions, while recording high-quality neural signals. The breakthrough technology is bound to help treat epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders.
(The author is Associate Director of Health and Bio-Medical Centre and the Head of Nanotechnology and Bio-Engineering Research Group at Atlantic Technological University in Ireland.)