A group of researchers, led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT (Sulzbach，Germany; www.ibmt.fraunhofer.de), has developed a new generation of active, wirelessly connected microimplants that could be implanted in the body for life.

In addition to communicating with each other wirelessly, securely and in real time,these implants also allow the patient and doctor to communicate with the network from outside at any time.

The tiny assistants that can be implanted in the body could improve the quality of life for people with functional limitations.

These miniature assistants can act as a stimulus in patients with tinnitus or digestive tract disorders or help a person's hand to regain the ability to grip.

Image: The microimplant consists of an eight-layer circuit board (Photo courtesy of Fraunhofer IBMT)