Lead study author Ramy Ghanim (left) and co-author Joy Jackson test a small implantable device alongside Assistant Professor Alex Abramson. In a new Science paper, they describe a networking system that connects therapeutic implants and wearable devices by using the body's natural conductivity to send tiny signals.
Using the human body to transmit signals, Georgia Tech engineers have created a wireless networking system that allows tiny implantable sensors and actuators to communicate with each other as well as wearable devices.
Their system means devices can work together like never before, sensing in one part of the body and triggering a therapeutic response elsewhere — perhaps releasing medicine or stimulating a nerve.
Described Sept. 24 in the journal Science, their communication method is expandable to include multiple interconnected devices across the body, even deep inside the stomach.
“With our system, you can now place sensors in the best possible place to detect a biological signal and place actuators in the best possible place to perform a therapeutic action,” said Alex Abramson, the study’s senior author and an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “They don't need to be connected, aligned, or even near each other; they can just send signals to each other through the surrounding tissue.”