Implants detect changes in chemical released following spinal injury

It has previously been impossible to detect such a fast change in the level of the responsible neurotransmitter, glutamate. Biomedical engineers from Purdue University have now developed an implant that can detect a glutamate spike and help track the damage it causes, which may find future use as a method for determining whether drugs for brain trauma or diseases are working.

In healthy people, glutamate is associated with function such as learning and memorising. Damage to the spinal cord can cause it to leak into spaces outside cells, over-exciting and damaging them. This tends to occur very rapidly, with glutamate levels suddenly spiking.

"When you feel like you're running a fever, it doesn't matter when you check your temperature - it will probably be the same for several hours. But a glutamate spike is so fast that if you don't capture it at that moment, you miss the whole opportunity to get data," said Riyi Shi, a professor of neuroscience and biomedical engineering in Purdue's Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.