Neurostimulators are becoming popular for treating Parkinson’s, Essential Tremor, pain, and other neurological conditions. They typically involve a battery-powered implant resembling a pacemaker placed on the chest that has electrode leads attached reaching up to another part of the body, often the brain. There are a number of disadvantages with implantable batteries and issues related to leads that researchers atDraper Labs have been working to avoid altogether.

The team has unveiled a neural stimulator that is less than a cubic millimeter in size that can be placed directly where desired and that is powered using an external induction-based system. Typical neurostimulators have a good deal of electronics built-in to manage power delivery and control the stimulation in a variety of ways. The Draper device obviates most of this by using only an induction coil to receive power, a capacitor to achieve the correct resonant frequency of the receiver, and a diode to rectify the signal for delivery to a nerve. The result is that the device can run on only a half a volt of power. The whole thing is wrapped in a medically safe epoxy.

The researchers tested the device, for which they employed a rat model whose sciatic nerve was successfully stimulated. Though it’s not clear whether this technology would be applicable to stimulating the brain directly, it certainly does present as a viable alternative to stimulating the peripheral nerves.