Implants and tiny machines could eventually be working inside our bodies to help treat disease or monitor activity, but letting them communicate is tricky. Now scientists at EPFL have developed a system whereby devices can communicate by releasing molecules into a patient’s bloodstream.
Biomedical implants play a key role in healthcare, monitoring activity in organs like the heart or brain, while recent research is investigating how nanoscale robots might one day swim or crawl through the body to fight disease. But these systems have a communication issue.
Running wires through the body is not only impractical, it’s an infection risk. And wireless technologies like radio, light and Bluetooth don’t travel through human tissue very efficiently, drastically limiting their range.
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