Scientists have created a "window the brain" that could benefit patients with serious neurological disorders and even brain cancer.
The window would be used to administer "laser-based treatments" that would normally have required surgery, a University of California, Riverside, press release reported.
Most lasers are unable to penetrate the skull, so doctors must perform multiple craniectomies (when a portion of the skull is removed).
"This is a crucial first step towards an innovative new concept that would provide a clinically-viable means for optically accessing the brain, on-demand, over large areas, and on a chronically-recurring basis, without need for repeated craniectomies," team member Devin Binder, a clinician and an associate professor of biomedical sciences at UC Riverside, said.
The material, called yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), is already widely used in medical implants such as artificial hips. Scientists took the material, which has already been shown to not have a low rejection rate, and made it transparent.
"This is a case of a science fiction sounding idea becoming science fact, with strong potential for positive impact on patients," Guillermo Aguilar, a professor of mechanical engineering at UC Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering, said.
This is not the first see-through skull implants dreamed up by scientists, but they are the first that could most likely be implanted into a human's head. YSZ is exceptionally tough, which makes it more tolerant to "shock and impact" than previous glass-like versions. The sturdy material could also reduce patient self-consciousness because they would not be required to wear extensive protective headgear.
The work goes hand-in-hand with President Obama's Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. The effort aims to gain a higher understanding of how the human mind works, and to find new cures for debilitating brain disorders.
"The team envisions potential for their YSZ windows to facilitate the clinical translation of promising brain imaging and neuromodulation technologies being developed under this initiative," the press release stated.
