Jorge Fernandes, CMU Portugal Faculty member at Instituto Superior Técnico and researcher at INESC ID, was interviewed by the “90 Segundos de Ciência” Podcast on Antena 1 about CMU Portugal’s Exploratory Research Project “mm-Size Stimulator Implants”. The project’s main goal is to develop a new generation of battery-free medical microelectronic implants.
The main idea behind this project is to create subdermal or deep implants with millimeter dimensions that are autonomous and biocompatible.
“We believe that these implants can revolutionize medical practice and change the use of therapies that are typically administered through medication, replacing them with others that interact with the nervous system through electrical stimulation,” shares the researcher.
The main feature of this new generation of implants is avoiding the use of batteries, which eliminates the need to encapsulate the implant in titanium, thereby avoiding the need to power the circuit. As a result, the implant can be smaller, making it much less intrusive and more comfortable to apply to the patient.
The final goal is to create integrated circuits with very low energy consumption, suitable for monitoring or applying electrical stimulation therapies.
The project is funded under the CMU Portugal 2022 Call for Exploratory Research projects, supported by Fundação da Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT).
Listen do the Podcast at 90 Segundos de Ciência website.
