[Presenter]
Development of new treatment to brain disorder by attaching MEA to the damaged surface of brain has drawn attention from the medical sector.
The above treatment developed by cooperation of three domestic universities research team has shown to reduce the side effects with lower developmental costs. It is anticipated to bring forward the treatment of brain disorder including Parkinson’s disease.
[Reporter]
At the laboratory with on going research, 5mm MEA is attached to the cerebrum of the experimental rat with epilepsy.
Constant stimulation with MEA made of ‘Graphene’, which was awarded with Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010, resulted in disappearance of epilepsy symptoms.
“Our experiments demonstrated that brainwave injected leads to disappearance of epilepsy patterns” said Dr. Yang Sunggu, Professor of Bioengineering at Incheon University.
Controlling of the frequency and strength of brainwave could treat various types of epilepsy to most parts.
This also compensates the physical damage to brain by ‘needle-like devices’ that are being used in medical sector currently.
With 32 strands, MEA is able to measure various brainwaves and to stimulate.
This is the outcome of 2 years of continuous research by Professor Ahn Jong Hyun, Professor Yang Sungchil and Professor Park Sung Won from Yonsei University, City University of Hong Kong and Incheon University.
Researchers revealed that this treatment takes lower costs, less development time required with minimal side effects compared to other regeneration treatments.
Upon the completion of domestic registration of patent, research team has applied for the patent registration in US. Furthermore, the research paper has been published as the cover paper of the world-wide academic journal.
The research team has received several joint development offer from multinational medical device company and continues to prepare for the therapeutic methods for other brain disorders including Parkinson’s and tinnitus.
– By Park Jae Woo from KBS