Ear-radio receiver
Bionic ear printed on a 3D printer
The work describing the device is published in the journal Nano Letters (Mannoor et al., A 3D Printed Bionic Ear), and its summary can be read in the university press release: Printable 'bionic' ear melds electronics and biology.
To create a bionic ear, engineers used layer-by-layer application of the material using conventional 3D printers. The basis of the artificial organ was a hydrogel, inside which channels of a polymer containing particles of metallic silver were printed. Upon completion of printing, the "blank" was incubated with a culture of cells that were attached to the surface of the bionic ear.
The increased conductivity and the corresponding shape of the silver channels made them sensitive to radio waves, but in the developed prototype there was nothing to connect this antenna to. The authors point out that it will be possible to excite neurons directly with the current of such antennas, but this has not been demonstrated in this work.
The main task of the creators of the bionic ear was to work out the technology of combining electrical and biological components in a single living tissue. Potentially, such devices can be used not only to "expand the auditory range into the radio frequency range", but also, for example, for remote monitoring of the state of prostheses.
Earlier, the same group of researchers demonstrated a wireless biosensor sensitive to bacterial components, which is attached to the skin or on the surface of the tooth. The basis of the device was graphene deposited on a silk substrate.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru06.05.2013