Researchers at the University of Glasgow have found a way to use a "sonic screwdriver" to repair damaged nerves.
The device, called a Heptagon Acoustic Tweezer, uses resonance to manipulate matter by creating a standing wave capable of applying physical force, according to CNET. The research team was able to achieve control using minimal acoustic pressure with the help of the tweezers, which use two standing waves.
The technique allowed the team to manipulate cells into complex patterns. Dr. Anne Bernassau, a Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Fellow in Sensor Systems, called these patterns a "cell tartan".
"We have shown that the acoustic tweezer is capable of trapping cells at predetermined positions and, by using the ability to switch phase and operate different sets of transducers, we can generate complex cellular patterns," the team stated. "Compared to other methods such as laser-guided direct writing, the new device has the advantage of being small, electronically controlled, flexible in the patterning and can be easily integrated with standard microscopy equipment."
The research was published in the journal Lab on a Chip, CNET reported.
The technique has so far been tested in a lab setting in two dimensions. The tests show that the technique works and that the cellular matrix keeps growing in the pattern, even after the acoustic forces were removed.
The team was also able to show that the cell tartan could help neurone alignment, a preliminary step toward nerve repair, Phys.org reported.
Dr. Mathis Riehle, a reader in the Institute of Molecular Cell and Systems Biology, said the team's goal was to test the technique in three dimensions. Riehle said the transition would make it possible to create an artificial device holding a person's own cells. The device could be used to repair nerve damage and could be a more effective tool than current methods like nerve repair tubes and nerve grafts.
