Ultrasound and microrobots team up to boost stem cell therapy for brain repair

Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's are characterized by irreversible neuron damage and limited natural repair mechanisms. While stem cell therapy holds great promise for regenerating neural tissue, it has long been hindered by inefficiencies in cell delivery and low differentiation rates.

Current methods, including surgical implantation or magnetic actuation, often fail to ensure precise cell placement and controlled differentiation. Ultrasound stimulation, known for its deep tissue penetration and safety, has emerged as a potential solution, but conventional transducers lack the necessary precision. Magnetic cell-based microrobots (cellbots) offer targeted delivery, but integrating them with differentiation techniques has remained largely unexplored.

Study led by researchers at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) introduces a groundbreaking approach to neural stem cell therapy. The team combined magnetic cellbots with a piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducer (pMUT) array to achieve targeted cell delivery and localized differentiation.

By applying ultrasound stimulation to magnetically guided cells, they observed a remarkable 90% increase in neurite length, a key indicator of neuronal maturation. This hybrid technology has the potential to transform treatments for neurodegenerative diseases by enhancing the precision and efficacy of stem cell-based therapies.

Image source: Kim et al. (2025), Microsystems & Nanoengineering.