Spinal cord damage breaks the connection between the brain and the body, but new carbon fibre electrodes may help bridge this gap and offer an all-new treatment for paralysis.

Researchers at the University of Melbourne and their colleagues at the University of Sherbrooke (Canada) are investigating a unique approach to re-connect these signals by bridging the gap caused by spinal injuries.

For the last six years Dr. Simon Higham of the University of Melbourne has been developing ultra-tiny carbon fibre electrodes for the brain. And now, in collaboration with Canadian researchers through the RE-MOVE initiative, this research team is exploring adapting them for the spinal cord.

The idea is to implant these electrodes into the spinal cord, enabling them to ‘talk’ directly to individual neurons using the body’s own electrical and chemical languages. Not only can these electrodes speak the language of our nervous system, but they are coated in an ultra-thin layer of diamond, so they are tougher and more durable than ever before.

The smaller the electrode, the louder the conversation

Many of the current electrodes used for the brain are either too bulky, too stiff or too floppy to work safely in the spine. The spinal cord is a hard place to work – the target areas that are deep, delicate, and the spine is constantly moving. This is where carbon fibre comes in.

About one-fifth the width of a human hair, these strands can conduct electricity and are perfect as biomaterials. They’re flexible enough to move with the body, stiff enough to enter tissue and gentle enough that the body doesn’t reject them. Because carbon fibre electrodes are so small, they can communicate with the tissue right down to a single neuron.