Immigrate to the U.S. and see U.S. immigrant life: The U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing a new technology that can use signals such as light, electricity, and magnetism to treat diseases.
If one compares a human to a robot, the human nervous system is equivalent to the electrical transmission system within a robot, the human brain is equivalent to the robot's power source, and the heartbeat is like being driven by voltage. Inspired by this, the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has begun a highly forward-looking study.
The U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has named this project ElectRx, and its purpose is to study how light, sound waves, magnetism, and voltage can assist in treatment. On Monday, DARPA announced that they would be providing funding to the seven teams responsible for the project.
ElectRx project manager Doug Weber, a biomedical engineer, said: "The peripheral nervous system transmits a large amount of sensory and motor signals. These signals can monitor our health status and keep our bodies functioning normally through changes in brain and organ function."
"We hope that this technology will be able to detect when a disease occurs and be able to regulate the functions of the brain, spinal cord, and organs by stimulating peripheral nerves to restore physical health."
These teams from the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will use different methods to understand and cure diseases. According to the latest issue of IEEE Spectrum magazine: one team is responsible for using light pulses to treat pain, one team is responsible for using magnetic nanotechnology to activate neurons, and one team is specifically responsible for understanding the mechanism behind how ultrasound stimulates neurons.
Weber said: "DARPA's plan envisions a complete system that can be used to treat chronic pain, inflammation, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other diseases that cannot be treated by traditional therapies." Therefore, this project not only studies inflammation in the body but also how to stimulate the sympathetic nerves to reduce fear and anxiety during trauma. The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve and assists in controlling the parasympathetic nervous system to regulate psychological and visceral activities.
Weber said: "Using the peripheral nervous system as an intermediary to treat diseases is almost an entirely new field with huge potential. This not only affects our military but is also of great significance to the entire country. This is an exciting path."