Treating Diabetes with Electric Impulses
Background: As a brain-computer interface and stem-cell researcher, the idea of combining various industries to solve health problems was the ultimate goal. That was when my team and I started the company, Reboot.
Reboot is a biotechnology company that has one mission: Using the power of human electric impulses to propel the next generation of personalized healthcare.
Well, why is this even necessary with recent updates of CRISPR technology and stem cell therapy? In fact, it is need! When we look at health problems, diseases, such as diabetes and cancer, the norm of treatments cannot be emphasized for the future. In fact, we will need to make this transition eventually. In fact, personalized medicine is crucial to do just that.
Reboot is working towards solving diseases such as diabetes and health problems such as heart attacks.
Our body, specifically our pancreas, produces insulin. Insulin is very crucial as it is the very ligand that opens cell receptors in our body. When we eat food, our carbs our converted into glucose. This glucose is then travels to trillions of cells in our body, where they enter the cell and produce ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) energy in the mitochondria. However, before this can happen, our cells must allow in the glucose via a lock and key system. Our insulin acts as the key to open the locks, which are our cells. When these ligands bind to cell receptors, the membrane opens and glucose enter the cells. Insulin is also important as it promotes energy storage in liver cells by converting glucose into glycogen.
However, diabetic patients, specifically type 1 diabetics, do not produce insulin. If there is no insulin, cell receptors won’t open and there would be high glucose levels in blood. Eventually, it would be secrete through urine. This is why diabetic patients must use injections or pumps to compensate for production of insulin. This is hectic and is a real lifestyle changer for many!
Using electric impulses to “artificially” open cell-receptors!
Instead of using insulin to open cell receptors, we will use our body’s very own electric impulses. The system would be composed of a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) that would be surgically inserted in the brain (as shown to the left). The BCI will have sensors that will detect for high blood glucose levels. The red sensor will detect high blood glucose levels. Once activated, the blue sensor will “fire” electric impulses down neurons until they would reach nano-electrodes strategically placed around the body. The electric impulses would then be sent from those nano-electrodes to the trillions of cells in the body.
The electric impulses would target the insulin receptors or synthetic cell surface receptors to provide an opening to the cells. We could also target voltage-gated ion channels as another opening for glucose. Once targeted, cell would initiate a cascade of chemical reactions, which would activate the GLUT4 protein.
This process would ensure that glucose enter the cells and diabetic patients can continue to product ATP energy. GLUT4 is a glucose transporter that is responsible to diffuse glucose in the blood into muscle and fat cells. This will happen when the GLUT4 protein will to go to the other side of the cell to attach to the membrane so it can act as an opening for glucose, which is how glucose gets into cells. Glucose is then converted into lipids which is released as fatty acids to be used by the body.
Reboot your lives
As a biotechnology company, it is necessary that every employee works towards our core values. This includes moving fast (with innovation), ideas over hierarchy, insisting on high standards, and driving change.
In short, Reboot’s plan is to:
- Build electric impulse devices for diabetic patients
- Extend application to other health problems such as heart attacks
Tejvir Multani, Chief Technical Officer and Co-Founder of Reboot.
Safwan Khan, Chief Operational Officer and Co-Founder of Reboot.
Yazan Qwasmi, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Reboot.
