00:00What exactly is the work you guys are doing, and what are microscopic technologies that
00:06are working inside the human body or will work inside the human body?
00:11Yeah, very excited to be here today as well. So what you are doing in our group, we are fusing
00:16the fields of electronics, specifically nanoelectronics, with applied physics and
00:23biology to build tiny nanoelectronic chips, which can seamlessly integrate with our body and brain.
00:31This can diagnose disease or treat diseases, which even drugs cannot fix. So one example of such a
00:40technology we have built is the world's first autonomous and non-surgical brain implant. So
00:47existing brain implants require creating a hole in the skull and putting a centimeter scale probe in
00:53that's highly, highly invasive. And because of the surgery related risks and hundreds and thousands
01:00dollars of surgery costs, that's only limited to less than 1% of the patients. So millions of people
01:09suffering from devastating neurological conditions have impossible choices, either to go through this
01:16very risky brain surgery or live with debilitating symptoms, which drugs cannot fix. So to overcome
01:24these challenges, what we have built are tiny electronic devices, which can travel through our body fluids.
01:32They can autonomously recognize a disease region in the brain, disease regions, which may not be even
01:39visible through imaging technologies. And these devices can self-implant in these disease regions.
01:46And then we wirelessly power these devices to provide precise electrical stimulation to treat diseases,
01:54which are even resistant to drugs. So while existing technologies, as I mentioned, are only limited to
02:01less than 1% of the patients because of surgery related risks and costs, we are breaking the barriers of
02:09age, health risks and costs, which are currently preventing millions from getting treatments.
02:15So we envision a future where these life-saving technologies will be accessible to all.
02:21Help me understand where we are in this process. So part of what you describe sounds so fantastical,
02:26sounds like it stands to upend or radically change the way that we pursue medicine. Are we at the conceptual
02:33stage here? What have you been able to sort of prove as concept here as you've been working on these technologies?
02:37We have already demonstrated this technology very robustly in animals already. So we have already
02:46built this tiny nano electronic devices. We have shown right now that they have record power
02:52conversion efficiency so they can work deep inside the brain. We have also demonstrated that they have
02:58the capability of traveling through the body fluids, autonomously recognize the target region in the brain.
03:05And so we have shown that they can very precisely electrically stimulate the brain. So these are already
03:11demonstrated in our animal models. A paper is actually will be coming out in in few weeks. And we are also
03:21translating this technology is very interested in translating these technologies to humans. So we have not only shown
03:28this as a platform technologies to stimulate this brain, but we have also results in multiple diseases.
03:34Professor Sarkar, because we only have about three minutes or so left. I just want to jump ahead. So
03:38what do you envision in the future that all of us get an implant or something and it's kind of
03:44moving around our body, detecting things or how, how might this play out? And I am curious about what it would cost.
03:51So electronics now will, you know, it's so cheap that you can have it in your shoes. Millions of these devices
03:58can be made with less than $10. So as I mentioned that in our lab, we have already shown this technology is
04:06helpful for multiple diseases, including brain cancer, chronic pain, and Alzheimer's in the area of brain
04:12cancer. And then we work with terminal cancers like glioblastoma or DIPG, where these are terminal cancers means the
04:21patients, when they are diagnosed with these cancers, they have no other hope. Radiation does not work.
04:27Chemotherapy does not work. People die within 12 to 18 months. We have shown that with our technology,
04:33with precise bioelectrical stimulation, you can completely halt the growth of brain cancer where
04:40other technologies will not work. That can increase the survival rate of patients to more than 85%.
04:46persons. Also in Alzheimer's disease, we have shown that you can prevent the formation of the Alzheimer's itself.
04:53So it can be, it can lead to preventative technology.
04:56Which would be unbelievable, because I feel like there's certain diseases out there, right? And that all of the medical
05:03world and pharmaceutical industry is trying to figure out how to deal with. Having said that, you know, in this segment,
05:09we often talk about the gaps that are out there in terms of women's health, the spending on R&D, the gaps that are out there,
05:16how might this help in terms of diagnosing things that are certainly specific to women only?
05:22Yeah. So taking the example of brain cancer. So if you think of breast cancer, that is horrible.
05:30But when breast cancer metastasize, metastasize to the brain, currently there is no cure. It becomes terminal.
05:36And our work on brain cancer showing that you can completely halt the growth of brain cancer. That is helpful for women.
05:43For Alzheimer's disease as well, women are actually at twice the risk of getting any kind of neurodegenerative diseases compared to men.
05:52So all these technologies we are building are also very, very relevant to women.
05:56And I should also mention that all our work are actually being supported by family members of patients,
06:04family members who have suffered a loss of their near and dear ones.
06:09So we feel very supported. And for example, just recently, I got an email from a father who was talking about his 10 years old daughter who has this terminal brain cancer called DIPG and just seeing his daughter going to a certain death.
06:26So you're very committed and dedicated to taking this technology to humans and plan to start clinical trials in the next three years.
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