Crossbrain project to tackle seizures using nanobots

Led by Tor Vergata University of Rome, Crossbrain is backed by the European Innovation Council under the Horizon Europe programme. Over the course of its four years, the project will develop tiny robots about one-tenth of a millimetre long, made using nanomaterials that enable specific physical properties. When implanted in the brain, the nanobots will be linked to a small, wearable control unit, with the system capable of monitoring and modulating electrical brain activity.

“The technologies available to guide and modulate brain activity in a precise and selective way for therapeutic purposes are severely limited to date, considerably reducing the therapeutic options,” said Crossbrain principal investigator Professor Nicola Toschi, from Tor Vergata’s Department of Biomedicine and Prevention.

"However, recent advances in nanotechnology could facilitate access to new modalities and innovative paradigms in the field of neuromodulation. Innovation in the field of nanomaterials provides the opportunity to modulate neuronal activity with greater precision and sensitivity. The Crossbrain project aims to create radically new neurostimulation strategies and devices in the field of precision medicine with a key role in the predictive management of brain diseases.”