Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, are touting an implant that can provide real-time measurements of tissue oxygen levels.
The tiny wireless device is smaller than a ladybug and powered by ultrasound waves to help monitor the health of transplanted organs or tissue through real-time measurements of oxygen levels in tissues deep beneath the skin, according to a news release.
Created in collaboration with physicians at the University of California, San Francisco, the technology may allow for creating a variety of miniature sensors that can track other key biochemical markers in the body, including pH or carbon dioxide. A new paper describing the implant was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
“It’s very difficult to measure things deep inside the body,” UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering & computer sciences Michel Maharbiz said in the release. “The device demonstrates how, using ultrasou…