EU-funded robot uses magnets to steer graphene implants into the brain

The EU-funded MINIGRAPH consortium has completed a project in which a robot from Nanoflex Robotics and ETH Zurich uses remote magnetic navigation and X-ray imaging to guide ultra-thin graphene electrodes from INBRAIN into the brain along straight and curved paths with sub-millimeter accuracy. The first target is Parkinson's disease, with tests so far limited to the lab and animal models.

• MINIGRAPH received €3.93m from the EU over 45 months starting October 2022
• INBRAIN's graphene electrodes showed over 10 years of projected stability in ageing tests
• Compact electronics decode signals from hundreds of brain points in one implant prototype
• Testing has been lab- and animal-only; a separate first-in-human study is underway