BIOMEDICAL OPTOGENETICS-TO RESTORE LIMB MOVEMENT !

Light Workout: Optogenetics Stimulates Mouse Muscles ...

Light has been used to effectively stimulate muscle movement in mice optically, rather than electrically.

In a study involving bioengineered mice whose nerve-cell surfaces are coated with special light-sensitive proteins, researchers at Stanford University were able to use light to induce normal patterns of muscle contraction.

The new approach allows scientists to more accurately reproduce muscle firing order, making it a valuable research tool. The investigators, from Stanford’s schools of medicine and of engineering, also believe this technique could someday spawn practical applications, from restoring movement to limbs paralyzed by stroke or spinal-cord or brain injury, to countering spasticity caused by cerebral palsy.
 

The study, published online Sept. 26 in Nature Medicine, employed optogenetics technology, which involves the insertion of a specialized gene derived from algae into the genomes of experimental animals. This gene encodes a light-sensitive protein that situates itself on nerve-cell surfaces. Particular wavelengths of light can trigger nerve activity in animals endowed with these proteins, modifying nerve cells’ firing patterns at the experimenters’ will.  The light is delivered via fiber-optic cables causes a mouse's brain cells to fire.
 

ref: Photonics.com Bio Technology Newsletter