“Neural Dust” Implant
October 18, 2016 | Terry Sharrer

Neural Dust
Electrical engineers at the University of California-Berkeley have created an implantable sensor, about the size of a grain of sand, which can wirelessly monitor nerve impulses in muscles or generate stimulation. They call this device “neural dust.” Each sensor houses a piezeoelectric crystal that produces electricity from an external ultrasound source. “When the vibrations are bounced back to an ultrasound device on the outside of the skin, the change in echo can be analyzed to reveal the voltage of the nerve.” According to the developers, neural dust might be used as neural stimulators for the central or peripheral nervous systems. MORE
Image Credit: University of California-Berkeley