A small implantable device, the size of a grain of rice, could be placed in the brain of people with cancer to help develop treatments, new research suggests.
Due to the high level of care needs for some patients with brain tumors, a nursing home with medical staff on call may be a good option for residence, the American Brain Tumor Association suggests.
The device would be able to conduct multiple experiments on gliomas, one of the deadliest types of brain tumors, which affects approximately 20,000 people per year.
“The lack of reliable biomarkers to guide effective therapy is a major obstacle for treating high-grade gliomas, one of the few cancers whose prognosis has not improved over the past several decades,” the study authors wrote.
Despite its size, the device would be able to deliver drugs and analyze brain tissues, they stated.
Although not all the participants in the study were older adults, the median age of the participants was 76.
In the initial trials, there were no adverse effects on patients from the device itself, the researchers stated, adding that they believe the device could be used with “no significant burden on healthcare costs” and “minimal impact on existing operative protocols.”
The researchers were led by a team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital outside of Boston.
The brain tumor device is meant to be implanted for approximately two to three hours. Other innovations in implantable devices include a system that could allow them to be inside a patients’ body for months at a time without adverse effects.
Artificial intelligence could be deployed soon in evaluating brain tumors, the McKnight’s Tech Daily recently has reported.
