A team of Japanese and US scientists has devised a system for using platinum-based nanotechnology in order to potentially monitor brain activity and treat neurological diseases.

Using platinum nano-wires even thinner than narrow capillary vessels, the team has outlined how it might be possible to thread the wires through the circulatory system.

The findings, published in the latest Journal of Nanoparticle Research, could prove a significant breakthrough for the medical community if developed properly.

Experts say the threads can be pushed round the body without interfering with any of its natural functions.

As part of their experiments the scientists successfully guided platinum nano-wires through the vascular network of tissue samples, using them to detect activity within individual neurons.

"Nanotechnology is becoming one of the brightest stars in the medical and cognitive sciences," commented Mike Roco, senior advisor for nanotechnology at the National Science Foundation.

The team included experts from the New York University School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.