A researcher in Chicago remotely controls a miniaturized brain implant in Daejeon, Korea — over the internet. Korean researchers have developed a wireless device that can deliver drugs and light to precisely modulate targeted neurons from anywhere in the world. The technology is expected to overcome the constraints of distance and location, supporting long-term studies of brain disorders and the future development of therapeutic devices.

KAIST (President Choongsik Bae) announced on August 27 that a research team led by Professor Jae-Woong Jeong from the School of Electrical Engineering, in collaboration with Professor Wha Young Kim's team at Yonsei University College of Medicine, has developed an IoT-enabled wireless neural implant that integrates drug delivery, optical stimulation, wireless communication, and internet-based remote control into a single miniaturized device.

Conventional studies involving optical stimulation or drug delivery to the brain often required bulky equipment connected by wires, restricting the natural movement of experimental animals. Even wireless devices had their own limitations, often requiring researchers to operate them at close range, thereby restricting experimental flexibility and introducing the so-called “observer effect”.

To overcome these limitations, the research team developed the brain implant with IoT connectivity. Even without being physically present in the laboratory, researchers can remotely administer drugs or stimulate specific brain neurons with light in real time via the internet. The device can also be programmed to operate automatically at a preset time.

The device is about the size of a sugar cube and is designed not to interfere with the animal's natural behavior. Researchers no longer need to repeatedly approach or handle equipment near the animal, reducing the stress caused by a researcher's presence, which can otherwise affect the animal's behavior and bias experimental results.

The implant contains a microfluidic system that precisely delivers drugs to a targeted region of the brain, as well as a micro-LED that enables optical control of specific neurons. Drug delivery and optical stimulation can be controlled independently, or the two functions can be combined.

The drug reservoir is designed to be magnetically detachable. Even after the drug is depleted, researchers can replace or refill the reservoir without the need for additional implantation surgery, enabling long-term, repeated experiments.

The research team implanted the device in rats and verified its performance over a four-week period. In particular, a researcher in Chicago successfully operated the brain implant in Daejeon, Korea, in real time via the internet, demonstrating that the device can operate reliably over intercontinental distances.

The team also conducted an experiment in which cocaine was wirelessly administered to a rat's brain while specific neurons were simultaneously stimulated with light. The results showed that addiction-related behavioral responses could be suppressed, demonstrating the potential of combining drug delivery and optical stimulation for neural circuit research.

By eliminating the need for researchers to operate equipment directly beside experimental animals, this technology enables long-term studies of the relationship between brain circuits and behavior under naturalistic conditions. It is expected to be useful for studying conditions that involve long-term changes in neural circuit function and behavior, such as addiction, depression, and neurodegenerative diseases.

The technology could ultimately pave the way for intelligent implantable medical devices that combine brain-state sensing with AI to deliver drugs or neural stimulation precisely when needed.

Professor Jae-Woong Jeong from KAIST said, “This technology transforms wireless brain implants that use light and drugs from short-range control tools into IoT-based brain engineering platforms capable of long-term, automated, and remote experimentation.” He added, “In the long term, it could contribute to the development of intelligent implantable medical devices for the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders.”

Professor Wha Young Kim from Yonsei University said, “This platform allows researchers to remotely and precisely control specific brain circuits over extended periods while animals move freely under naturalistic conditions.” She added, “It is expected to become an important tool for identifying causal relationships between neural circuits and behavior in disease models such as addiction, depression, and neurodegenerative disorders.”

Eun Young Jeong, a doctoral student in KAIST's School of Electrical Engineering, and Jong Woo Park, a doctoral student at Yonsei University College of Medicine, served as co-first authors. The study was published on July 29 in the international journal Science Advances.

Paper title: IoT-enabled wireless neural implant for chronic, programmable neuropharmacology and optogenetics, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aee8648

This research was supported by the Mid-Career Researcher Program and Basic Research Laboratory Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea, funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT, as well as the Industrial Technology Alchemist Project of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.