These Implantable LEDs Could Block Pain Wirelessly

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a biocompatible device that could help patients who suffer from chronic pain, according to the MIT Technology Review. The invention is a small, flexible light-emitting diode, or LED, that responds to the brain's neural activity. Researchers used lab mice to show how the device can manipulate parts of the brain that perceive pain. The process involves tweaking the DNA construct of neurons in the brain, which allows them to respond to light.