The tiny implant uses light to record and transmit brain signals in mice. It worked for a year with minimal scarring.

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Researchers developed MOTE, a wireless brain implant smaller than a grain of salt that uses light for power and data transmission. The device recorded neural activity in mice for a year with minimal scarring, using red and infrared light to power its 186-transistor circuits and transmitting brain signals via light pulses. Protected by an atomic-layer coating, the implant successfully captured electrical activity from individual neurons and neural networks in the mouse barrel cortex. The technology could eventually be applied to brain organoids, spinal cord monitoring, and other biological tissues, with potential depths of up to six millimeters.

This Wireless Brain Implant Is Smaller Than a Grain of Salt