Marta Bonato, researcher at the Istituto di Elettronica e di Ingegneria dell’Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni (CNR-IEEIT), presented the latest computational modelling results achieved within the META-BRAIN project at the BioEM 2026, the world’s leading conference on bioelectromagnetics, held in Cairns, Australia, from 21 to 26 June 2026.
Bonato delivered the oral presentation “Magnetoelectric Core-Shell Nanorods for Wireless Brain Stimulation: A Computational Modeling Study”, in which she introduced a computational framework capable of simulating a realistic spatial distribution of magnetoelectric core-shell nanorods around a rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neuron model. The study assessed how the electric fields generated by these nanostructures could modulate and activate neuronal dynamics.
The study forms part of CNR-IEIIT’s contribution to the META-BRAIN project, where computational modelling is used to investigate how magnetoelectric nanostructures may influence neuronal activity. By simulating realistic biological scenarios and quantifying the electric fields generated by these nanostructures, it contributes to META-BRAIN’s efforts to develop novel approaches for precise brain modulation.
The presentation generated considerable interest among the BioEM audience, leading to an engaging discussion on the computational approach.
“Since BioEM brings together a highly specialised bioelectromagnetics community, most questions focused on technical aspects, particularly the mesh and the structure of the simulations. Overall, it was a very valuable scientific exchange“, said Marta Bonato.
The conference is organised by the BioEM Society, an international scientific society established in 2021 through the merger of the Bioelectromagnetics Society (BEMS) and the European Bioelectromagnetics Association (EBEA). The Society promotes the exchange of knowledge on the interaction between electromagnetic fields and biological systems through its annual conference, scientific publications and other collaborative activities.
META-BRAIN is coordinated by IDIBAPS and brings together Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (Ciber), Zabala Innovation, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) and its research institutes Istituto di Elettronica e di Ingegneria dell’Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni (CNR-IEEIT) and Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi (CNR-IMM), G.TEC Medical Engineering, ETH Zurich and the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics.
