Kip Ludwig, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has received a supplementary grant of more than $300,000 from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to support his lab’s work exploring the use of an injectable electrode to treat neurodegenerative diseases.
Ludwig is one of the creators of the “injectrode,” a novel electrode that is injected as a liquid and cures inside the body. The device can then facilitate neuromodulation treatments, in which nerves are electrically stimulated to treat a range of conditions.
Ludwig and his collaborators are applying the technology as a means of stimulating cranial nerves to clear the misfolded proteins in the brain that cause diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The researchers see promise for the injectrode as a minimally invasive, early stage treatment to thwart diseases before they cause neurocognitive deficits.