Chip Assisted Brain Tumor Surgery to Undergo Clinical Trials

A graphene-based brain chip is entering its first clinical trial at Salford Royal Hospital, aiming to revolutionize brain tumor surgeries, according to The Guardian. The device, roughly postage-stamp sized, works by detecting cancer cells through differences in electrical emissions between cancerous and healthy brain tissue.

Developed by an international research team, the chip utilizes graphene’s exceptional conductive properties, which led to a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010.

Professor Kostas Kostarelos, a nanomedicine expert, emphasized that this is the first clinical use of a graphene-based medical device, marking a breakthrough for neural surgery and precision medicine. The chip enhances surgeons' ability to distinguish cancer cells from healthy neurons, particularly in operations near delicate brain areas.

Given the 12,700+ annual brain tumor diagnoses in the UK, this advanced technology could improve patient outcomes and  research on conditions such as stroke and epilepsy. Researchers consider this a milestone for neural decoding and therapeutic interventions.

Salford Royal Hospital in Greater Manchester was managed by Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust until 2017. Dr Owen Williams serves as the company's CEO. It was declared in December 2017 that the Trust would create a new healthcare entity by merging with Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. The upcoming institution, known as the Northern Care Alliance NHS Group, is set to have 17,000 employees and a total operating budget of £1.3bn, spanning across Oldham, Bury, Rochdale, Salford, and North Manchester.