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Wireless resonant circuits for the minimally invasive sensing of biophysical processes in magnetic resonance imaging

Nature Biomedical Engineering volume 3, pages 69–78 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Biological electromagnetic fields arise throughout all tissue depths and types, and correlate with physiological processes and signalling in organs of the body. Most of the methods for monitoring these fields are either highly invasive or spatially coarse. Here, we show that implantable active coil-based transducers that are detectable via magnetic resonance imaging enable the remote sensing of biological fields. These devices consist of inductively coupled resonant circuits that change their properties in response to electrical or photonic cues, thereby modulating the local magnetic resonance imaging signal without the need for onboard power or wired connectivity. We discuss design parameters relevant to the construction of the transducers on millimetre and submillimetre scales, and demonstrate their in vivo functionality for measuring time-resolved bioluminescence in rodent brains. Biophysical sensing via microcircuits that leverage the capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging may enable a wide range of biological and biomedical applications.

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Fig. 1: ImpACTs as imaging probes for functional MRI.
Fig. 2: Theoretical performance of ImpACT designs.
Fig. 3: Tuning and imaging performance of an ImpACT prototype.
Fig. 4: ImpACT-mediated detection of bioluminescence in vitro and in vivo.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available within the paper and its Supplementary Information. All datasets generated for this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by NIH grants R01 NS76462, R01 DA038642 and U01 NS904051 to A.J. A.H. was supported by postdoctoral fellowships from the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences and a long-term fellowship of the European Molecular Biology Organization. We thank A. Takahashi for assistance with 3 T MRI measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Aviad Hai, Benjamin B. Bartelle & Alan Jasanoff

  2. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Virginia Ch. Spanoudaki

  3. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Alan Jasanoff

  4. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Alan Jasanoff

Authors
  1. Aviad Hai
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  4. Alan Jasanoff
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Contributions

A.H. and A.J. devised the ImpACT concept. A.H., V.C.S., B.B.B. and A.J. designed the research. A.H. performed the modelling calculations. A.H. and V.C.S. performed the in vitro measurements and analysed the data. A.H. and B.B.B. performed the in vivo imaging experiments. A.H. and A.J. wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Alan Jasanoff.

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MIT has filed a provisional patent application related to this technology.

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Hai, A., Spanoudaki, V.C., Bartelle, B.B. et al. Wireless resonant circuits for the minimally invasive sensing of biophysical processes in magnetic resonance imaging. Nat Biomed Eng 3, 69–78 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-018-0309-8

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