To treat or manage various heart, gastrointestinal and neurological conditions, including arrhythmias, heart block, gastroparesis, epilepsy and some nerve injuries, doctors rely on a technique known as electrical stimulation. Electrical stimulation entails the delivery of small electrical pulses to target locations to prompt the activation of nerves, muscles or organs.
Many existing approaches for delivering electrical stimulation rely on electronic devices that are permanently or temporarily implanted inside the body. These devices can sometimes fail, cause adverse effects and might need to be surgically removed.
Researchers at Northwestern University, Sungkyunkwan University and other institutes recently developed a new implantable and bioresorbable system that could be used to electrically stimulate specific organs, muscles or nerves inside the body. This stimulator, presented in a paper published in Nature Electronics, could gradually disappear after a treatment is complete, so it would not need to be surgically extracted.
“Wireless bioresorbable systems for electrical stimulation can deliver electrotherapy over clinically relevant timeframes, and then subsequently dissolve away in a harmless fashion,” wrote Jong Uk Kim, Seung Gi Seo and their colleagues in their paper. “Such systems have previously been used in neuroregeneration and cardiac pacing, delivering monophasic pulses to a targeted site. We report a wirelessly powered system with programmable control of the stimulation waveforms using tissue-penetrating near-infrared light.”
A new solution for delivering electrical stimulation
The electrical stimulation system developed by Kim, Seo and their colleagues has several components, including a wireless receiver unit, a silicon-based phototransistor, circuitry and stimulation electrodes. The device is fully bioresorbable, which means it safely dissolves inside the human body over time, and is controlled using a near-infrared light source outside the body.
“The approach relies on a bioresorbable silicon phototransistor that is designed to optically modulate current flows at critical nodes in electrical circuits,” wrote the authors. “We show that the approach can offer precise control over stimulation pulses—allowing monophasic, biphasic and polyphasic waveforms to be delivered to single or multiple sites—and all with power wirelessly delivered to a single receiver unit.”
The team’s stimulation system can produce different types of intermittent electrical pulses, including monophasic, biphasic and polyphasic pulses. A monophasic pulse sends electrical current in only one direction. A biphasic pulse sends current in one direction and then immediately reverses it. Finally, a polyphasic pulse changes the direction and intensity of current several times.
The researchers tested their stimulation system in a series of initial experiments, implanting it in both small and larger animals. The findings of these tests were promising, as the system could reliably pace the hearts of animals and stimulate nerves controlling the movements of the diaphragm.
“Using small and large animal models, we show that the technology enables single- and dual-chamber cardiac pacing, as well as phrenic neuromuscular stimulation for inducing and blocking diaphragmatic excursion,” wrote Kim, Seo and their colleagues.
Possible clinical applications
The results of this study are preliminary, and more studies will need to assess the device’s safety, effectiveness and long-term performance before it can be evaluated in human clinical trials. Nonetheless, the team’s initial findings highlight its potential for the electrical stimulation of specific muscles and nerves.
In the future, the bioresorbable stimulation system could potentially be deployed in health care settings for the temporary pacing of the heart, nerve repair or to support patients who are experiencing respiratory difficulties. In addition, its design could inspire the development of other similar implantable devices that gradually dissolve inside the body.
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Publication details
Jong Uk Kim et al, A wirelessly powered, light-controlled, bioresorbable stimulation system with programmable polyphasic waveforms, Nature Electronics (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-026-01655-8.
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