Unfortunately countless people are diagnosed with brain tumors, strokes and other brain related diseases every day. Many people die as a result of these disorders because neurological problems are very difficult to treat as everything in the brain is connected. But now researchers have invented a partial brain transplant.
This article by BBC delves into what doctors are calling a “window to the brain”. According to BBC, “The team of scientists has devised a transparent implant that would replace a small section of the skull. They converted a material- yttria-stabilized zirconia that is used in some ceramic hip implants and dental crowns- to make it transparent.”
Scientists and doctors are excited because many treatments that were once limited, due to doctors being unable to access the brain, can now be utilized to their full effect. Such procedures include utilizing laser treatment in stroke and cancer patients because brain imaging is necessary for these treatments.
Researchers say a part of the skull will have to be removed each time a treatment is performed but that it is supposed to be done safely and within reason. One professor of mechanical engineering described the new brain transplant to BBC as, “This is a crucial step towards an innovative new concept that would provide a clinically-viable means for accessing the brain, on-demand, over large areas, and on a chronically recurring basis.”
The amazing brain transplant invention was first reported in the journal Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine. Patients suffering with neurological disorders are being urged to ask their doctor about this major break through. The new technology has taken the medical community by storm. One doctor told BBC, “Access to the brain for minimally invasive surgery would be a major step forward. This research appears to provide a very encouraging step in this direction.”
