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Lookup NU author(s): Harbaljit Sohal, Professor Andrew Jackson, Dr Gavin ClowryORCiD, Dr Konstantin VasilevskiyORCiD, Professor Anthony O'Neill, Professor Stuart BakerORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Micromotion between the brain and implanted electrodes is a major contributor to the failure of invasive brain–machine interfaces. Movements of the electrode tip cause recording instabilities while spike amplitudes decline over the weeks/months post-implantation due to glial cell activation caused by sustained mechanical trauma. We have designed a sinusoidal probe in order to reduce movement of the recording tip relative to the surrounding neural tissue. The probe was microfabricated from flexible materials and incorporated a sinusoidal shaft to minimize tethering forces and a 3D spheroid tip to anchor the recording site within the brain. Compared to standard microwire electrodes, the signal-to-noise ratio and local field potential power of sinusoidal probe recordings from rabbits was more stable across recording periods up to 678 days. Histological quantification of microglia and astrocytes showed reduced neuronal tissue damage especially for the tip region between 6 and 24 months post-implantation. We suggest that the micromotion-reducing measures incorporated into our design, at least partially, decreased the magnitude of gliosis, resulting in enhanced longevity of recording.
Author(s): Sohal HS, Jackson A, Jackson R, Clowry GJ, Vassilevski K, O'Neill A, Baker SN
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Frontiers in Neuroengineering
Year: 2014
Volume: 7
Online publication date: 29/04/2014
Acceptance date: 07/04/2014
Date deposited: 23/09/2014
ISSN (electronic): 1662-6443
Publisher: Frontiers Research Foundation
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fneng.2014.00010
DOI: 10.3389/fneng.2014.00010
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