2023-11-17 09:03:26
The photo has nothing to do with the article. Getty Image Bank A patient who suffered spinal cord injury in an accident and became paralyzed from the waist down walks. This is a research result introduced in the world-renowned academic journal Nature last May. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne developed and tested a ‘wireless digital bridge’ that connects the nerves between the brain and spinal cord of a 40-year-old Dutch man. Then the man was able to stand and walk on his own once more.
The researchers connected the physically disconnected nerves between the brain and spinal cord through a wireless communication network. Electrodes were implanted in the spinal cord, which controls leg movements, to transmit signals received from the brain. The patient was allowed to walk like a normal person if he or she wanted to walk.
A technology that can treat diseases through electrical stimulation without injecting drugs into the patient’s body like oral medicine or injections is called ‘electronic medicine’. The concept of electronic medicine may still be unfamiliar, but it is easy to think of when thinking of radiofrequency therapy in physical therapy. It mainly uses electrical stimulation or magnetic fields to control nerves and treat diseases through this.
Electronic medicine focuses on treating diseases that existing chemical and biopharmaceuticals cannot overcome. Blackrock Neurotech in the U.S. also developed an artificial language device for people who were unable to speak due to a stroke by implanting a computer chip in the brain. There are not only electromedicines that insert electrodes into the brain or spinal cord. Rather, most electronic medicines are used to treat intractable diseases such as depression, insomnia, dementia, and autism, using ‘non-invasive’ mechanisms that do not require any procedures or surgeries on the body.
Last October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Neurobalance’s insomnia treatment electronic medicine ‘Modius Sleep’. This electronic medicine is shaped like a headset. It improves insomnia by placing electrodes behind the ears and stimulating the hypothalamus area of the brain, which controls the sleep and wake cycle. Wearing a headset for 30 minutes before going to sleep is known to improve sleep quality.
NeuroBalance is also developing electronic medicines for type 2 diabetes and obesity. Color Health in the U.S. also succeeded in developing a smart watch that improves hand tremor symptoms in Parkinson’s patients. When hand tremor occurs, the smart watch automatically provides electrical stimulation to the nerves to improve hand tremor.
Electronic medicine first appeared in Korea in 2003. Remed, Korea’s first electronic medicine company, has developed an electronic medicine for chronic pain for hospitals. In 2021, wearable electronic medicines emerged and received public attention once more. YBrain’s electronic medicine for treating depression, MindStim, comes in the form of a hairband and can be treated at home with a doctor’s prescription. New Ain’s migraine relief device ‘Elexia’ is a wearable electronic medicine that can be used without a prescription. This product is also FDA cleared.
Remed and brain disease treatment startup Neurofit are developing an electronic medicine to treat dementia. Giving electrical stimulation to the brain has the effect of activating intracellular signaling pathways, such as proteins and genes, and is said to help slow down the rate of cognitive impairment. However, it is still in the clinical stage and is expected to be commercialized in 2 to 3 years.
Reporter Oh Hyun-ah 5hyun@hankyung.com
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