New Delhi: A new wireless implant that uses electricity to remove excess sugar from the body has shown promising results in diabetic mice, bringing their blood sugar levels back to normal and helping them lose weight, according to a study published in the journal Science.
The implant, called ECHO (electrocatalytic closed-loop health optimisation), has been developed by researchers at ETH Zurich, a public university in Switzerland, and the University of Lyon in France. The team of researchers includes an Indian scientist, Debasis Maity.
The researchers say the device could offer a new, drug-free approach to managing diabetes and obesity. However, they emphasise that the work remains at the animal-testing stage, and the device needs to be made smaller to make it suitable for implantation in humans before human trials can begin.
During their study, the researchers observed that the device brought blood sugar levels back to normal in diabetic mice within 90 minutes of being switched on. With repeated use, it kept their blood sugar under control for six weeks, while the mice lost up to 10 per cent of their body weight, according to findings published in Science on 22 October.
Nearly 589 million adults worldwide, including more than 89 million in India, are living with diabetes, estimates in the International Diabetes Federation’s 2025 Atlas suggest.
The human body breaks food down into glucose, which travels through the blood to provide energy to cells. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, helps glucose enter these cells. In type 2 diabetes, the body does not respond properly to insulin and may eventually fail to produce enough of it, causing glucose to build up in the blood.
Most diabetes treatments help the body regulate blood sugar or improve insulin function. The ECHO implant takes a different approach, converting excess glucose into a compound that can be removed through urine.
The research comes amid growing interest in GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, which can lower blood sugar and help people lose weight. Other treatments include medicines such as metformin and SGLT2 inhibitors, as well as insulin when required.
Doctors in India have greeted the development of the implant with optimism but cautioned that it is too early to know whether it will be safe or effective in humans.
Dr Ambrish Mithal, chair of endocrinology and diabetology at Max Healthcare, who was not involved in the study, called it a “landmark paper”.
“People like me, who have worked in this field for more than 40 years, have been trying to find ways to normalise blood glucose. If something can achieve that without the use of a drug, it is a big thing,” he said.
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How the implant removes excess sugar
The wireless implant, which sits under the skin, is battery-free and receives power wirelessly through radiofrequency signals from a smartphone. It contains tiny platinum-decorated gold particles embedded in graphite. The implant, researchers say, converts energy from the radiofrequency signals into electrical current, which activates the platinum-gold catalyst to oxidise glucose into gluconate, a less harmful substance that the body can remove through urine.
The kidneys clear gluconate rapidly, and the rate of conversion can be adjusted by controlling the electrical input.
The device works with a continuous glucose monitor, which switches it on when blood sugar rises above a preset level and switches it off when it returns to target. This is important because removing too much glucose could result in blood sugar falling to dangerously low.
Dr Mithal said it was this feature of the implant that stood out. “What I found particularly fascinating is that the device is linked to a continuous glucose monitor… It is not about converting all the glucose in the body into gluconate, but about regulating the process based on glucose levels,” he said.
Too early to assess the implant’s effectiveness in humans
Glucose is one of the body’s main sources of energy. When some of it is lost in urine, the body burns more fat. The treated mice also showed lower triglyceride levels and higher levels of free fatty acids and ketone bodies, changes consistent with greater fat use, and lost up to 10 per cent of their body weight over a period of six weeks.
Dr Anoop Misra, chairman of Fortis C-DOC Hospital for Diabetes and Allied Sciences in New Delhi, said the technology could address both high blood sugar and excess energy through a mechanism that is different from existing treatments, including GLP-1 drugs.
“That’s what excites me most,” he told ThePrint.
However, Misra cautioned that the findings were based on early animal experiments. “Long-term safety, durability of the implant, its effect on the kidney and overall effectiveness in humans remain to be established. If successfully translated into clinical practice, this could open an entirely new chapter in the management of diabetes and obesity,” he said.
Dr Rajiv Kovil, a diabetes and obesity specialist at Zandra Healthcare in Mumbai, said the effects of sustained gluconate production on the kidneys and metabolism needed careful study.
“Continuous gluconate production could affect how the kidneys process and remove substances from the blood, particularly in patients with diabetes-related kidney disease. Its effects on the body’s acid-base balance, energy use, ketone production and risk of low blood sugar also need to be studied. Short-term safety in mice cannot establish long-term safety in humans,” he said.
Dr Kovil said diabetes involves more than high blood sugar. Medicines such as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which help regulate blood sugar and appetite, and SGLT2 inhibitors, which help the kidneys remove excess glucose through urine, can offer benefits beyond lowering blood sugar, including protecting the heart and kidneys in certain patients.
“The implant might eventually be used alongside existing treatments, but removing excess glucose alone cannot replace insulin’s essential functions in the body or the broader care needed to manage diabetes,” he said.
This report has been updated to add details about the implant’s mechanism
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)