US researchers are developing a revolutionary new device that can be implanted in the body to heal organs when they become infected or injured.
The implant, which uses electrical impulses to monitor the body's organs, is being developed under a project known as Electrical Prescriptions, or ElectRx.
The programme could reduce dependence on pharmaceutical drugs and offer a new way to treat illnesses, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the branch of the US Department of Defense responsible for developing the programme.
DARPA hopes to develop a device so tiny that it can be implanted using only a needle.
The implant would be something akin to a tiny, intelligent pacemaker, according to Doug Weber, programme manager for DARPA's biological technologies office, 'Live Science' reported.
The device would be implanted into the body, where it would continually assess a person's condition and provide any necessary stimulus to the nerves to help maintain healthy organ function, he added.
The idea for the technology is based on a biological process known as neuromodulation, in which the peripheral nervous system (the nerves that connect every other part of the body to the brain and spinal cord) monitors the status of internal organs and regulate the body's responses to infection and disease.
When a person is sick or injured, this natural process can sometimes be thrown off, according to DARPA.
With the help of an electrically charged implant, DARPA said it can keep neuromodulation under control.
Electric impulses from the device will stimulate the nerve patterns that help the body heal itself and keep the out-of-whack nerve stimulus patterns that cause a sick person even greater harm from doing damage.
