Dankook University Hospital Develops Brain Disease Diagnosis Method Without Craniotomy

Professor Hyun Jungkeun's Team Conducts Joint Research with Seoul National University and UNIST

Professor Hyun Junggeun of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Dankook University Hospital, together with Professor Kang Seungkyun of Seoul National University and Professor Kim Jooyoung's research team at UNIST, developed a 'biodegradable electronic tent technology.'

A new technology has been developed that enables the diagnosis of brain diseases using an injection needle, without the need for surgery to open the skull.

Professor Hyun Junggeun from the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Dankook University Hospital announced on the 13th that the ‘biodegradable electronic tent technology’ developed in collaboration with Professor Kang Seungkyun of Seoul National University and Professor Kim Jooyoung of UNIST has been published in the latest issue of the prestigious international journal ‘Nature Electronics’.

This technology is a new method that allows for the diagnosis of brain diseases by minimally invasive insertion of an electronic tent through an injection needle.

Currently, in order to diagnose epilepsy, it is essential to perform surgery that removes a wide section of the skull and inserts electrodes. However, this can lead to side effects such as cerebral hemorrhage, brain infection, and cerebrospinal fluid leakage, as well as complications like postoperative neurogenic hypertension.

The ‘biodegradable electronic tent’ developed by the research team is designed to pass through the narrow 5mm space between the skull and the brain and spread widely and evenly, using a biodegradable shape-memory polymer and an ultra-thin biodegradable inorganic electronic device.

Injected through the small hole of a syringe, the electronic tent unfolds extensively inside the brain, covering the entire brain. After the diagnosis is complete, the device naturally decomposes and disappears, minimizing the long-term side effects of medical devices remaining in the body.

This technology is expected to be used not only for epilepsy but also for diagnosing other brain diseases such as stroke and hydrocephalus, and could be applied to the treatment of brain disorders that cause motor dysfunction, such as Parkinson’s disease.

In particular, the ‘biodegradable electronic tent technology’ offers the advantage of minimizing the issues of conventional methods that may cause discomfort to the general public, as it enables diagnosis and treatment with minimal invasiveness using only an injection needle, without the need for craniotomy.

Professor Hyun Junggeun said, “The results of this study could develop into a core technology in the field of brain diseases, opening up new possibilities for more effective diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders in clinical settings.”