Tiny chips hitch a ride on immune cells to sites of inflammation - Ars Technica

In a groundbreaking advancement, a team at MIT, led by Deblina Sarkar, has created microscopic electronic devices that can be hybridized with living immune cells, allowing them to be injected into the bloodstream and navigate to targeted brain areas. This innovation addresses longstanding challenges in neurological treatments, such as the size of functional electronic devices, the difficulty of maneuvering them through the complex vascular system, and the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. The biocompatible devices, powered by infrared light, can attach to monocytes, immune cells that naturally target inflammation, effectively delivering the technology to the brain without the need for invasive surgery. Initial experiments conducted on mice showed that these hybrids successfully reached their intended locations in the brain and activated neurons, demonstrating a similar response to traditional implanted electrodes. Looking ahead, Sarkar's technology, named