Experimental Ultrasound Implant Provides Real-Time Images And Insight Of Spinal Cord Injuries

An experimental implant might one day help people better recover from a spinal cord injury, a new study says.

The tiny ultrasonic device could help doctors monitor injury sites and potentially stimulate recuperation, researchers reported Nov. 4 in the journal Science Advances.

The device, which is the size of a small Band-Aid, is designed to act as a “mobile MRI” that could alleviate the need to move immobile patients as they recover, researchers said.

“When the biology of spinal cord injury is local, our devices should also be able to track and treat local physiology,” senior researcher Amir Manbachi said in a news release. He is an associate professor of neurosurgery and biomedical engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The device, called Multimodal Ultrasound System for Injury Care (MUSIC), can track blood flow around a spinal cord injury and enables analysis of spinal fluid and excess fluid accumulation, researchers said.

Additionally, it provides insights into how a person is responding to medication and what is happening in and around the injured area, researchers said.

The implant can also deliver therapeutic ultrasound to the injury location, possibly stimulating recovery, researchers said.

Surgeons would place the implant over the spinal cord at the site of injury as they perform surgery to treat the injury, researchers said.

An estimated 18,000 spinal cord injuries occur in the United States each year, most often resulting from vehicle accidents, researchers said in background notes.

In this first proof-of-concept study, researchers reported that the implant provided continual data on the spinal health of three laboratory pigs across 30 repeated sessions.

However, researchers said more animal studies are needed before the device is ready for implantation in humans.

“Timing is critical for recovery,” said researcher Dr. Nicholas Theodore, a current adjunct professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins who created the device with Manbachi.

“This research represents a fusion of multiple industries, disciplines and applications that we envision has the power to fine-tune and personalize the care that a person receives following their surgery, which could support and improve their health outcomes months and years later,” Theodore said in a news release.

The team of Johns Hopkins engineers and surgeons developed the device using a $13 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense. It was designated as a breakthrough device by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2023.

More information

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has more about recovery from a spinal cord injury.

SOURCE: Johns Hopkins Medicine, news release, Nov. 4, 2026