Bioresorbable, wireless dual stimulator for peripheral nerve regeneration

Hak-Young Ahn; Jordan B. Walters; Raudel Avila; Seyong Oh; Seung Gi Seo; Jong Uk Kim; Jihun Park; Seonggwang Yoo; Yeon Sik Choi; Tae Yeon Kim; Jiaqi Liu; Jae-Young Yoo; Oliver Ralph Weissleder; Dominic D’Andrea; Chanho Park; Geumbee Lee; Donghwi Cho; Woo-Youl Maeng; Hong-Joon Yoon; Grace Wickerson; Yasmine Bouricha; Jing Tian; Tzu Chun Chung; Sumanas W. Jordan; Song Li; Yonggang Huang; Colin K. Franz; John A. Rogers

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-59835-7

Bioresorbable, wireless dual stimulator for peripheral nerve regeneration

Hak-Young Ahn (Co-first Author)
, Jordan B. Walters (Co-first Author)
, Raudel Avila
, Seyong Oh
, Seung Gi Seo
, Jong Uk Kim
, Jihun Park
, Seonggwang Yoo
, Yeon Sik Choi
, Tae Yeon Kim
, Jiaqi Liu
, Jae-Young Yoo
, Oliver Ralph Weissleder
, Dominic D’Andrea
, Chanho Park
, Geumbee Lee
, Donghwi Cho
, Woo-Youl Maeng
, Hong-Joon Yoon
, Grace Wickerson

Yasmine Bouricha, Jing Tian, Tzu Chun Chung, Sumanas W. Jordan, Song Li, Yonggang Huang, Colin K. Franz^*, John A. Rogers^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Wireless bioresorbable electrical stimulators have broad potential as therapeutic implants. Such devices operate for a clinically relevant duration and then harmlessly dissolve, eliminating the need for surgical removal. A representative application is in treating peripheral nerve injuries through targeted stimulation at either proximal or distal sites, with operation for up to one week. This report introduces enhanced devices with additional capabilities: (1) simultaneous stimulation of both proximal and distal sites, and (2) robust operation for as long as several months, all achieved with materials that naturally resorb by hydrolysis in surrounding biofluids. Systematic investigations of the materials and design aspects highlight the key features that enable dual stimulation and with enhanced stability. Animal model studies illustrate beneficial effects in promoting peripheral nerve regeneration, as quantified by increased total muscle and muscle fiber cross-sectional area and compound muscle action potentials. These findings expand the clinical applications of bioresorbable stimulators, particularly for long-term nerve regeneration and continuous neuromodulation-based monitoring. © The Author(s) 2025.

Original language	English
Article number	4752
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	16
Online published	22 May 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59835-7
Publication status	Published - 2025
Externally published	Yes

Funding

This work was supported by the Querrey-Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics at Northwestern University. J.A.R. and S.L. acknowledge support from National Institutes of Health grants (R01NS126918). C.K.F. acknowledges support from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS136683), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R03HD101090), the American Neuromuscular Foundation (Development Grant), and the Belle Carnell Regenerative Neurorehabilitation Fund at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. H.-Y. A. acknowledges support by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (HI19C1348). R.A. acknowledges support from the ASME Applied Mechanics Division - Haythornthwaite Foundation Research Initiation Grant. We thank K.E. Madsen for helpful discussions regarding electrochemistry. Small animal imaging work was supported by the Center for Translational Imaging at Northwestern University.

Publisher's Copyright Statement

This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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Ahn, H.-Y., Walters, J. B., Avila, R., Oh, S., Seo, S. G., Kim, J. U., Park, J., Yoo, S., Choi, Y. S., Kim, T. Y., Liu, J., Yoo, J.-Y., Weissleder, O. R., D’Andrea, D., Park, C., Lee, G., Cho, D., Maeng, W.-Y., Yoon, H.-J., ... Rogers, J. A. (2025). Bioresorbable, wireless dual stimulator for peripheral nerve regeneration. Nature Communications, 16, Article 4752. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59835-7

@article{036725d35d3e46259f722bc54c9e6837,

title = "Bioresorbable, wireless dual stimulator for peripheral nerve regeneration",

abstract = "Wireless bioresorbable electrical stimulators have broad potential as therapeutic implants. Such devices operate for a clinically relevant duration and then harmlessly dissolve, eliminating the need for surgical removal. A representative application is in treating peripheral nerve injuries through targeted stimulation at either proximal or distal sites, with operation for up to one week. This report introduces enhanced devices with additional capabilities: (1) simultaneous stimulation of both proximal and distal sites, and (2) robust operation for as long as several months, all achieved with materials that naturally resorb by hydrolysis in surrounding biofluids. Systematic investigations of the materials and design aspects highlight the key features that enable dual stimulation and with enhanced stability. Animal model studies illustrate beneficial effects in promoting peripheral nerve regeneration, as quantified by increased total muscle and muscle fiber cross-sectional area and compound muscle action potentials. These findings expand the clinical applications of bioresorbable stimulators, particularly for long-term nerve regeneration and continuous neuromodulation-based monitoring. {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025.",

author = "Hak-Young Ahn and Walters, \{Jordan B.\} and Raudel Avila and Seyong Oh and Seo, \{Seung Gi\} and Kim, \{Jong Uk\} and Jihun Park and Seonggwang Yoo and Choi, \{Yeon Sik\} and Kim, \{Tae Yeon\} and Jiaqi Liu and Jae-Young Yoo and Weissleder, \{Oliver Ralph\} and Dominic D{\textquoteright}Andrea and Chanho Park and Geumbee Lee and Donghwi Cho and Woo-Youl Maeng and Hong-Joon Yoon and Grace Wickerson and Yasmine Bouricha and Jing Tian and Chung, \{Tzu Chun\} and Jordan, \{Sumanas W.\} and Song Li and Yonggang Huang and Franz, \{Colin K.\} and Rogers, \{John A.\}",

year = "2025",

doi = "10.1038/s41467-025-59835-7",

language = "English",

volume = "16",

journal = "Nature Communications",

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Ahn, H-Y, Walters, JB, Avila, R, Oh, S, Seo, SG, Kim, JU, Park, J, Yoo, S, Choi, YS, Kim, TY, Liu, J, Yoo, J-Y, Weissleder, OR, D’Andrea, D, Park, C, Lee, G, Cho, D, Maeng, W-Y, Yoon, H-J, Wickerson, G, Bouricha, Y, Tian, J, Chung, TC, Jordan, SW, Li, S, Huang, Y, Franz, CK & Rogers, JA 2025, 'Bioresorbable, wireless dual stimulator for peripheral nerve regeneration', Nature Communications, vol. 16, 4752. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59835-7

TY - JOUR

T1 - Bioresorbable, wireless dual stimulator for peripheral nerve regeneration

AU - Ahn, Hak-Young

AU - Walters, Jordan B.

AU - Avila, Raudel

AU - Oh, Seyong

AU - Seo, Seung Gi

AU - Kim, Jong Uk

AU - Park, Jihun

AU - Yoo, Seonggwang

AU - Choi, Yeon Sik

AU - Kim, Tae Yeon

AU - Liu, Jiaqi

AU - Yoo, Jae-Young

AU - Weissleder, Oliver Ralph

AU - D’Andrea, Dominic

AU - Park, Chanho

AU - Lee, Geumbee

AU - Cho, Donghwi

AU - Maeng, Woo-Youl

AU - Yoon, Hong-Joon

AU - Wickerson, Grace

AU - Bouricha, Yasmine

AU - Tian, Jing

AU - Chung, Tzu Chun

AU - Jordan, Sumanas W.

AU - Li, Song

AU - Huang, Yonggang

AU - Franz, Colin K.

AU - Rogers, John A.

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - Wireless bioresorbable electrical stimulators have broad potential as therapeutic implants. Such devices operate for a clinically relevant duration and then harmlessly dissolve, eliminating the need for surgical removal. A representative application is in treating peripheral nerve injuries through targeted stimulation at either proximal or distal sites, with operation for up to one week. This report introduces enhanced devices with additional capabilities: (1) simultaneous stimulation of both proximal and distal sites, and (2) robust operation for as long as several months, all achieved with materials that naturally resorb by hydrolysis in surrounding biofluids. Systematic investigations of the materials and design aspects highlight the key features that enable dual stimulation and with enhanced stability. Animal model studies illustrate beneficial effects in promoting peripheral nerve regeneration, as quantified by increased total muscle and muscle fiber cross-sectional area and compound muscle action potentials. These findings expand the clinical applications of bioresorbable stimulators, particularly for long-term nerve regeneration and continuous neuromodulation-based monitoring. © The Author(s) 2025.

AB - Wireless bioresorbable electrical stimulators have broad potential as therapeutic implants. Such devices operate for a clinically relevant duration and then harmlessly dissolve, eliminating the need for surgical removal. A representative application is in treating peripheral nerve injuries through targeted stimulation at either proximal or distal sites, with operation for up to one week. This report introduces enhanced devices with additional capabilities: (1) simultaneous stimulation of both proximal and distal sites, and (2) robust operation for as long as several months, all achieved with materials that naturally resorb by hydrolysis in surrounding biofluids. Systematic investigations of the materials and design aspects highlight the key features that enable dual stimulation and with enhanced stability. Animal model studies illustrate beneficial effects in promoting peripheral nerve regeneration, as quantified by increased total muscle and muscle fiber cross-sectional area and compound muscle action potentials. These findings expand the clinical applications of bioresorbable stimulators, particularly for long-term nerve regeneration and continuous neuromodulation-based monitoring. © The Author(s) 2025.

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UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105005790084&origin=recordpage

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-025-59835-7

DO - 10.1038/s41467-025-59835-7

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

C2 - 40404648

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 16

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

M1 - 4752

ER -

Bioresorbable, wireless dual stimulator for peripheral nerve regeneration

Abstract

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