Electrical signals control a vast number of activities in the human body, from exchanges of messages between brain neurons and stimulation of the heart muscle to the impulses that enable hands and feet to move, among many other examples. To monitor or modulate these signals for medical purposes, a biocompatible and biodegradable optical fiber based on agar, a substance extracted from Gracilaria seaweed, has just been developed.
such as monitoring of vitals, phototherapy or optogenetics [a method of controlling and monitoring specific cells by combining optics, genetics and bioengineering], among others. Optical fibers made of biodegradable materials are also an alternative to existing telecommunications technologies based on glass or plastic fibers," Fujiwara said.
When the fiber is excited by coherent light, it produces granular light patterns that evolve spatially and temporally. As the electrical currents present in the medium traverse the fiber, they modulate the agar's refraction index and create disturbances in the granular patterns, which are known as speckles.
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