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The cost-effective fabrication processes we used may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease and whether
in this new technology also have the potential to targeted electrical stimulation can of specific neural
deliver a scalable and affordable future treatment circuits could provide therapeutic benefits.
pathway which can be used in combination with
Dr. Samuel Barnes, Associate Professor in Neural
other therapies.
Plasticity at the Department of Brain Sciences at
Although there is still significant experimental work Imperial College, comments:
to be done before the system is ready to be used
“ This is an exciting new technology addressing many
directly in patient treatments, the results represent
biological questions in a range of systems. We will first
a significant step toward next-generation wireless
use it to how Alzheimer’s disease-related pathology
cancer therapies and implantable photonic medical
impacts neurovascular dynamics and circuit
devices. “
interactions that were previously inaccessible with
Reference: ‘Implantable Tech could cast new Light on Bladder Cancer conventional in vivo imaging approaches. “
Treatment’, Electronic Specifier, 23rd. May
Reference: ‘Wellcome awards £3.82m to Imperial Team for real-time
Brain Imaging Project’, New Electronics, Vol.59 Issue 4, April/May 2026,
Imperial College London to develop new Brain p.47
Imaging System
Researchers at Imperial College London have been New Device helps Parkinson’s Patients to walk Why join the Institution of Electronics?
awarded £3.92 million by Wellcome to develop a brain A medtech entrepreneur, Jonathan Fisher, is using
imaging system that can capture the electrical activity
£120,000 from Cambridge University to accelerate
of thousands of neurons simultaneously in three the development of ‘Peter’, a wearable device that is
dimensions and in real-time. • Corporate Members become • Members are invited to “Coffee and
designed to help people suffering from Parkinson’s
The team will develop a high-throughput imaging disease to walk. people of letters, able to display Chat”, our regular virtual opportunity
platform based on light-field microscopy, which aims post nominal letters, being a useful to chat with one another, regarding
to overcome present day limits in scale and speed
accreditation to show employers issues currently affecting them and
associated with current in vivo brain imaging techniques.
and others they are recognised for “Networking” with like-minded,
their achievements. experienced, people.

• The Institution of Electronics is one • Members can provide copy for
of the oldest Institutions specifically inclusion in Electron.
for electronics engineers both
• Student members can enter the
professional and amateur.
National Electronics Competition.
• Members receive a copy of Electron
published quarterly.

• Members have access to historic
A major symptom of Parkinson’s disease is freezing of
gait, or FOG, where there is sudden loss of the ability to publications on electronics.
walk for several minutes. The new device, consisting of
a neckband and a sensor, has the neckband touching
• Members can request on
the patient’s collarbone with the sensor attached to the
patient’s shoe. When walking, the sensor automatically email address in the form
The present techniques struggle to record fast electrical detects when a leg stops and sends a signal to the you@institutionofelectronics.ac.uk
signalling across large neural populations with the result neckband. With the aid of AI and real-time tracking, the
that certain critical events in brain communication can sensor tells if the wearer has chosen to stop or if the leg is
be missed. The team aims to address this by combining frozen.
light-field microscopy with AI-based image processing Reference: Ford, J., ‘Cambridge backs Parkinson’s Walking Device’,
allowing the reconstruction of fast, three-dimensional The Engineer, May 2026, p.9
voltage signals despite the heavy computational and
optical challenges that this poses.
The new ‘optical oscilloscope’ will allow scientists to
observe living neural circuits at a speed and resolution
that is not currently possible. It will be used to investigate Become a
how dysfunction in the brain’s neurovascular system
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