Researchers have created a new device that stimulates the activity of deep areas in the brain without the need for surgical intervention, which may contribute to the treatment of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s patients and depression.
The study was conducted by scientists from the University College of London and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and the results of the study were published in the journal Nature Communications on September 5th, and wrote York Alrt.
Scientists in the study have created a device called “Advanced Tracanial Ultrasound Stimulation”, and works to increase or reduce nervous activity by directing ultrasound to specific areas of the brain.
One of the therapeutic techniques currently used is the transcranial ultrasound stimulation.
This technique is based on adjusting the activity of neurons through mechanical impulses that affect the transmission of the signals sent, and lacks accuracy in reaching the deep areas of the brain without harming what is around them, which reduces the effectiveness of treatment.
The new hat
The device consists of a helmet producing ultrasound, as well as a plastic piece to stabilize the head to ensure more accuracy in targeting the microscopic areas of the brain without harming the neighboring areas.
The device can target a thousand times smaller areas of the traditional ultrasound, 30 times more accurately than surgeries.
The researchers tested the device on 7 volunteers, targeting the Lateral Genicula Nucleus, one of the accents that processes visual data, and scientists used a chess and a flash used in nerve experiments to study the optical cortex.
The results of the functional magnetic resonance imaging showed a noticeable increase in nerve signals in the visual cortex of volunteers, confirming the accurate targeting of the lateral nucleus.
In another experience, the technology was able to make long -term changes to the activity of the brain, as it managed to decline in the activity of the visual cortex that lasted more than 40 minutes.
According to the York Alert website, Professor Bradley Tribi of the University College of London and one of the members of the research team in the study stated that this device will make a fundamental change in studying brain networks in a safe and accurate way without resorting to surgeries, and will help the device to understand the brain functions and develop accurate therapeutic methods.
The researchers emphasized that there is still a great need to conduct more experiments on this device, however it is a major achievement in the field of neurological treatment, not surgically.