JLK CEO Kim Dong-min Regulates OLED Device Brain Cell Response...Hope for Alzheimer's Rehabilitation

Officially Listed in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
OLED Light Stimulation Drives Brain Cell Activity
Applied to Brain Disease Research and Rehabilitation

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Kim Dongmin, CEO of medical AI company JLK, has elucidated the relationship between light and brain cell activity through experiments with organic light-emitting diodes (OLED). This is expected to be applied in various brain-related disease research and rehabilitation.

JLK announced on the 25th that the paper titled "Ultraflexible organic light-emitting diodes for optogenetic nerve stimulation," co-authored by CEO Kim Dongmin as the lead author, was officially published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on the 19th.

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is an academic journal regularly published by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, an academic organization established in 1863 under U.S. federal law. Since its first issue in 1914, it has been regarded as a prestigious journal alongside Nature, Science, and Cell. From 2008 to 2018, it was cited in a total of 1.9 million papers, ranking second in citation frequency among all academic journals.

The paper researched by CEO Kim attracted the attention of neuroscientists by using a light source to stimulate the brain and precisely track its activity. Because the brain responds and changes easily even to small stimuli, continuous and meticulous monitoring is essential to understand brain function and structure.

The research team summarized their findings in a paper after stimulating neurons (brain cells) using optogenetics technology and flexible OLEDs, then reading the related data with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). After developing neurons that respond to specific light using viruses, they succeeded in stimulating them with a film-type OLED device about 1/50th the thickness of a human hair. This means that light stimulation can induce brain activity and muscle movement in animals.

The OLED device developed for the research is very soft compared to conventional light sources, causing no damage when attached to nerves. They succeeded in stimulating brain activity with OLED light while minimizing interference with the extremely sensitive MRI equipment. This suggests new possibilities for OLED devices in the field of neuroscience.

Although genetic engineering techniques are not yet approved for use in humans, they are expected to be applied in the future for ▲treatment of neurological intractable diseases ▲nerve and muscle therapy using stem cells ▲induced differentiation of stem cells. There is potential for early diagnosis and rehabilitation of various brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Kim Dongmin, CEO of JLK, said, "The research results demonstrated new possibilities by utilizing future technologies such as optogenetics, brain science technology using MRI, and flexible wearable technology."

He added, "I believe future artificial intelligence will develop through interaction with brain science, and we will use it for pioneering future research such as brain interpretation and modulation using AI."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.