Research into the electrical stimulation of the auricular vagus nerve at the Institute of Biomedical Electronics extends from the hypothesis to the technical development to clinical proof. The nerve provides a direct link to the human brain, the centre of the body's control. The stimulation of the vagus nerve can normalize the entire body (e.g., in chronic ailments) without significant side effects.

Only recently we and our clinical partners demonstrated that stimulation even helps in severe Covid 19 patients and thus has the potential to truly save lives. Even high-risk patients appear to benefit from the stimulation.

The productive research near and with the clinic is primarily due to the long-standing and future-oriented cooperation between Dr. Constantin Szeles, opens an external URL in a new window from the Medical University of Vienna and Prof. Eugenijus Kaniusas from the institute. The clinical perspective is essential for successful biomedical research on technology, following the motto of TU Wien “technology for people”.

Journal articles:

Randomized controlled study to evaluate the safety and clinical impact of percutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation in patients with severe COVID-19, Frontiers in Physiology 14, doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1223347, 1-8 (2023), opens an external URL in a new window.

Case Report: Auricular vagus nerve stimulation possibly alleviates COVID-19 disease on a high-risk patient, Frontiers in Physiology 13 (1000194), doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.1000194, 1-4 (2023), opens an external URL in a new window.

Percutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation reduces inflammation in critical Covid-19 patients, Frontiers in Physiology 13 (897257), doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.897257, 1-13 (2022), opens an external URL in a new window.