• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Monday, August 4, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Medical Technology

Implantable cuff with electrodes

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
May 12, 2014
in Medical Technology
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Researchers develop new method for lowering high blood pressure without side effects.

Implantable cuff with electrodes

The cuff is equipped with electrodes that can lower blood pressure without causing side effects. Photo Source: IMTEK

High blood pressure is the greatest health risk worldwide behind smoking and alcohol consumption. In Germany, around 25 percent of the population suffers from arterial hypertension, as the condition is referred to in medical circles. The microsystems engineers Dr. Dennis Plachta and Prof. Dr. Thomas Stieglitz from the Laboratory of Biomedical Microtechnology at the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) of the University of Freiburg teamed up with the neurosurgeons Dr. Mortimer Gierthmühlen and Prof. Dr. Josef Zentner from the Medical Center – University of Freiburg to develop a new cuff equipped with electrodes that can lower blood pressure without causing side effects.

Doctors usually prescribe drugs against high blood pressure. In around 35 percent of patients, however, pills do not succeed in reducing blood pressure in the long term. Chronic high blood pressure leads to damage in other organs – the eyes, kidneys, the heart, and the central nervous system, in particular. In order to help patients whose blood pressure cannot be reduced by means of drugs, the Freiburg researchers propose implanting a newly developed cuff with 24 electrodes in the so-called vagal nerve on the neck. The device starts by determining which electrode is closest to the nerve fibers that transmit the blood pressure signal. Then it uses electrostimulation to overwrite the information in these fibers with such precision that other bundles of fibers with other functions are not affected. The researchers have named this procedure for individual analysis, selection, and stimulation “BaroLoopTM.”

The scientists tested the device on rats and succeeded in lowering their mean blood pressure by 30 percent, without causing side effects such as a reduced heart rate or a drastic decrease in respiratory rate. The findings of the study have been published in the Journal of Neural Engineering.

The idea for the research project originated in 2004 within the context of the establishment of the Peter Osypka Endowed Chair in Neuroelectronic Systems at the Department of Neurosurgery. Now that the scientists have determined that a cuff with electrodes is feasible in principle, they have begun to develop a completely implantable system. As such a device is classed as an active implant that must fulfill the highest level of safety standards according to medical product laws, they do not expect to produce a licensed product for at least ten years.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg.

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

Designing better medical implants

May 18, 2015
blank

A Nano-transistor Assesses Your Health Via Sweat

May 16, 2015

Researchers develop custom artificial membranes to study the molecular basis of disease

May 8, 2015

Thermometer-like device could help diagnose heart attacks

May 7, 2015
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Blind to the Burn

    Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    60 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    54 shares
    Share 22 Tweet 14
  • Predicting Colorectal Cancer Using Lifestyle Factors

    43 shares
    Share 17 Tweet 11
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

EO-Based National Agricultural Monitoring for Africa

Polystyrene Standards Impact Environmental Sample Quantification

Deep Learning Predicts Glioma 1p/19q Status

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.