title: Thought-Controlled Nanoscale Robots in a Living Host.
abstract: We report a new type of brain-machine interface enabling a human operator to control nanometer-size robots inside a living animal by brain activity. Recorded EEG patterns are recognized online by an algorithm, which in turn controls the state of an electromagnetic field. The field induces the local heating of billions of mechanically-actuating DNA origami robots tethered to metal nanoparticles, leading to their reversible activation and subsequent exposure of a bioactive payload. As a proof of principle we demonstrate activation of DNA robots to cause a cellular effect inside the insect Blaberus discoidalis, by a cognitively straining task. This technology enables the online switching of a bioactive molecule on and off in response to a subject's cognitive state, with potential implications to therapeutic control in disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, and attention deficits, which are among the most challenging conditions to diagnose and treat.
authors.affiliation: Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel.
authors.forename: Shachar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arnon
authors.affiliation: Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel.
authors.forename: Nir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dahan
authors.affiliation: Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koren
authors.affiliation: Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel.
authors.forename: Oz
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Radiano
authors.affiliation: Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel.
authors.forename: Matan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ronen
authors.affiliation: Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel.
authors.forename: Tal
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yannay
authors.affiliation: Advanced Virtuality Lab, Sammy Ofer School of Communications, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel.|Faculty of Life Sciences and the Nano-Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Giron
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences and the Nano-Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ben-Ami
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences and the Nano-Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Yaniv
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Amir
authors.affiliation: Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel.
authors.forename: Yacov
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hel-Or
authors.affiliation: Advanced Virtuality Lab, Sammy Ofer School of Communications, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel.
authors.forename: Doron
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences and the Nano-Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Ido
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bachelet
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D062207:Brain-Computer Interfaces; D003058:Cockroaches; D004569:Electroencephalography; D036103:Nanotechnology; D012371:Robotics / Q000379:methods*; D013850:Thinking