Thought-Controlled Nanoscale Robots in a Living Host

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 11; no. 8; p. e0161227
• Main Authors: Arnon, Shachar, Dahan, Nir, Koren, Amir, Radiano, Oz, Ronen, Matan, Yannay, Tal, Giron, Jonathan, Ben-Ami, Lee, Amir, Yaniv, Hel-Or, Yacov, Friedman, Doron, Bachelet, Ido
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 15.08.2016; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Activation; Algorithms; Analysis; Animals; Attention; Biological activity; Biology and Life Sciences; Blaberidae; Blaberus discoidalis; Brain; Brain research; Brain-Computer Interfaces; Cockroaches; Cognition; Cognitive ability; Computer science; Controlled release technology; Data collection; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Drug delivery systems; EEG; Electroencephalography; Electromagnetic fields; Engineering and Technology; Gene expression; Insects; Interdisciplinary aspects; Internet; Life sciences; Man-machine interfaces; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Pattern recognition; Physical Sciences; Research and Analysis Methods; Robot control; Robotics; Robotics - methods; Robots; Schizophrenia; Thinking
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161227

We report a new type of brain-machine interface enabling a human operator to control nanometer-size robots inside a living animal by brain activity. Recorded EEG patterns are recognized online by an algorithm, which in turn controls the state of an electromagnetic field. The field induces the local heating of billions of mechanically-actuating DNA origami robots tethered to metal nanoparticles, leading to their reversible activation and subsequent exposure of a bioactive payload. As a proof of principle we demonstrate activation of DNA robots to cause a cellular effect inside the insect Blaberus discoidalis, by a cognitively straining task. This technology enables the online switching of a bioactive molecule on and off in response to a subject's cognitive state, with potential implications to therapeutic control in disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, and attention deficits, which are among the most challenging conditions to diagnose and treat.