Business Fortune: 3D-Printed Brain Implant Cools Seizure

3D-Printed Brain Implant Records Signals and Cools Seizure Activity in Lab Tests

A 3D-printed brain implant from Dresden and Sheffield researchers cools small brain regions to curb seizure-like activity in lab tests.

A 3D-printed brain implant that can read brain signals and cool a localised area of tissue has been shown to reduce seizure-like activity in the lab. This was announced by researchers in Dresden and Sheffield on 28th October 2026.

Quick facts

The team, from the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden and Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Digital Health at TU Dresden worked together with the University of Sheffield to create a prototype brain implant that can read brain signals and cool specific areas of tissue. This was published in the journal Advanced Science.

What is this 3D-printed brain implant?

The implant is a soft compact device created using 3D-printed silicone. It contains fluidic channels and electronic components, with composite electrodes directly printed onto it. An external driver unit is used for autonomous reading and control. The prototype contains five contacts; four for reading ECoG signals and one for cooling.

How was this 3D-printed brain implant tested?

Lab testing was first performed to show the implant can efficiently, consistently and locally cool tissue. This was done using finite element modelling and agar-based tissue phantoms. The 3D-printed electrodes were then shown to produce similar quality ECoG signals as a commercial system. The implant also reduced the seizure-like activity in an experimental epilepsy model by focally cooling the tissue. All of these results are in the early stages and have only been shown in a lab setting.

Why cool the brain for epilepsy?

Focal epilepsy occurs in one area of the brain so a targeted treatment would be ideal. Currently there are no neuroprosthetic systems for clinical use that utilise focal cooling for drug resistant epilepsy. However, human intraoperative studies have demonstrated that mild cortical cooling can be used to effectively and safely control neural activity. This method could help move focal cooling into clinical application as an ‘alternative therapy for drug-resistant focal epilepsies’.

Is this implant ready for patients?

No. This is a prototype implant that has only been tested in simulations, tissue phantoms and lab testing. The researchers state this has ‘great potential as a starting point to further develop this implant into clinical application’. This system could reduce the complexity, time taken to make the implant and size of the implant compared to previous systems that have been proposed. This project was funded by the European Research Council under their Starting Grant IntegraBrain.

This 3D-printed implant can read brain signals, contain fluid channels and cool the tissue. It produced similar quality signals to a commercial system and was shown to reduce seizure-like activity in lab testing. However, Business Fortune concludes that more work is needed before it can be used on patients.

FAQs

1. What is a 3D-printed brain implant for epilepsy?

A prototype implant containing 3D-printed silicone, fluidic channels and electronics. It can read brain signals and cool a small area of tissue. Researchers are investigating this as a potential treatment for drug resistant focal epilepsy.

2. Who developed this 3D-printed brain implant?

Researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden and Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Digital Health at TU Dresden in collaboration with the University of Sheffield.

3. Has this 3D-printed brain implant been tested on humans?

No. Results have only been shown in simulations, tissue phantoms and lab testing.

4. How does cooling the brain reduce seizures?

The implant was shown to reduce experimentally induced seizure-like activities by focally cooling the brain. It provides mild cooling to a small area of the surface of the brain.