3D-printed acoustic holograms against Alzheimer's or Parkinson's
May 2022, phys.org
Go ahead and read that headline as many times as you want but I don't think you'll understand what this is until you look at this explanation, and then at the picture above.
And before you read this, I should submit a reminder that this isn't some 18th century hocus pocus that starts with drilling a hole straight into your head. This is the edge of science right here:
How does it work? - The ultrasound transducer is like a speaker, but vibrates at a half-million oscillations per second. The hologram is placed in front of it, and it is crossed by the wave. At the same time, a cone full of water is placed in contact with the skull, through which the wave is propagated before reaching the patient's brain. Next, the wave passes through the brain, finally focusing on the area of the brain that is of therapeutic interest. In addition, microbubbles are inserted in the bloodstream. When the bubbles reach the brain capillaries and they coincide with the ultrasound, they start to vibrate. The epithelial tissue of the blood brain barrier starts to give way and that is when small cracks open, through which the molecules of the drugs pass in order to treat the pathology that affects the central nervous system.
Personalized and low-cost holograms - The hologram is printed, and customized for each case, with a 3D printer.
via Universitat Politècnica de València: Sergio Jimenez-Gambin et al, Acoustic Holograms for Bilateral Blood-Brain Barrier Opening in a Mouse Model, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (2021). DOI: 10.1109/TBME.2021.3115553
Image credit: 3D-printed acoustic hologram, Universitat Politècnica de València, 2022
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