US Controls Brain Implant 6,584 Miles Away
KAIST's RAPIDO system enables remote brain research, allowing scientists to deliver substances and emit light from 6,500 miles away in just 109 milliseconds
A team of researchers has achieved a significant breakthrough in brain research by controlling a brain implant in South Korea from over 6,500 miles away in the US. The distance between the control location in Chicago and the brain implant in Daejeon, South Korea is approximately 6,584 miles.
The RAPIDO system, developed by researchers at KAIST and Yonsei University, was used to perform the remote control. The system can perform two different tasks inside the brain: delivering a substance through a tiny channel and emitting light from a miniature LED. The signal traveled from Chicago to the brain implant in South Korea in an average of about 109 milliseconds.
The RAPIDO system has a refillable cartridge and can deliver programmed doses and light over the internet. This allows researchers to control the functions separately and schedule them in advance. The brain implant was tested in rat experiments, where it delivered different doses of cocaine directly into the nucleus accumbens. The effects of the cocaine doses were reproduced two, three, and four weeks after implantation.
The study, led by KAIST electrical engineer Jae-Woong Jeong, was published in Science Advances. The RAPIDO system has the potential to reduce interference in brain research, as researchers can operate the device remotely without entering the experimental space or approaching the animal.
## Why it matters The ability to control a brain implant remotely has significant implications for brain research. It could allow scientists in different locations to participate in the same experiments, reducing the need for physical presence and minimizing the impact on the animal's behavior. This could lead to more accurate and reliable results, and potentially accelerate the pace of brain research.
The long-distance control of the RAPIDO system also demonstrates the possibility of remote collaboration in brain research. Researchers can now work together on experiments from different locations, sharing data and results in real-time. This could lead to new breakthroughs and discoveries, and potentially improve our understanding of the brain and its functions.
