Ear and retinal implants could be precisely positioned using a device designed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The implant is attached to a silicone tube a few millimeters long. The tube has gold particles on its tip and a current is passed wirelessly through these to create a patterned magnetic field that would allow for the implant to be moved around the patient’s head, using an external electromagnet.

When the implant is in position, the gold particles should also work as electrodes to feed signals from the wires into the nerves.