The
implant exploits the fact that even
when the
neural connection between a brain region and the muscles it controls is severed or damaged by, say, a stroke or spinal injury, the controlling neurons remain active.
In 2016, University of California, Berkeley, engineers demonstrated the first
implanted, ultrasonic
neural dust sensors, bringing closer the day
when a Fitbit - like device could monitor internal nerves, muscles or organs in real time.