2023-07-25 16:45:27
A new ultra-small and ultra-flexible electronic neural implant, delivered through blood vessels, is capable of recording neural activity deep within the brain with such precision that it can do so in a single neuron, at least in rat brains, which are by far the most sophisticated brains in which the new device has been tested.
Brain-machine interfaces allow direct electrical communication between the brain and external electronic systems. They make it possible for brain activity to directly control devices such as prostheses or modulate nerve or muscle function, which can help people with paralysis or neurological disorders to regain functionality in affected parts.
However, most conventional brain-machine interfaces are limited to measuring neural activity on the surface of the brain. Recording the activity of a single neuron from deep brain regions often requires invasive intracranial surgery to implant probes, which can lead to infection, inflammation, and damage to brain tissue.
An alternative approach to the implantation of biological probes in deep brain regions is to use the vascular network of the brain. On this occasion, Anqi Zhang’s team, from Stanford University and Harvard University, both in the United States, present ultra-flexible microendovascular (MEV) probes that can be precisely delivered to deep regions of the brain through blood vessels.
Ultra-flexible microendovascular probe (in yellow) circulating through a blood vessel (red) near neurons (blue). (Illustration: Anqi Zhang / Stanford University)
Zhang and his colleagues designed an ultra-small, flexible mesh-like electronic recording device that can be loaded onto a flexible microcatheter and implanted into sub-100 micron-scale blood vessels in the inner brain.
Once delivered, the device expands like a stent to record neural signals through the vascular wall without damaging the brain or its vasculature.
To assess the potential of the microendovascular probe in vivo, Zhang and colleagues implanted the injectable probe into the vasculature of rat brains and demonstrated the ability to measure local field potentials and single-neuron activity in the cortex and olfactory bulb.
In addition, the study authors note that the implanted devices showed long-term stability, did not cause substantial changes in cerebral blood flow or behavior in the rats, and elicited minimal immune response.
The study is titled “Ultra-flexible endovascular probes for brain recording through micron-scale vasculature”. And it has been published in the academic journal Science. (Source: AAAS)
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