Pseudo-tricolor typed nanobelts and arrays simultaneously endowed with conductive anisotropy, magnetism and white fluorescence

Pseudo-tricolor typed nanobelts and arrays endowed with concurrent strong conductive anisotropy, tuned magnetism and white fluorescence are designed and constructed.

A Miniaturized 256-Channel Neural Recording Interface with Area-Efficient Hybrid Integration of Flexible Probes and CMOS Integrated Circuits

We report a miniaturized, minimally invasive high-density neural recording interface that occupies only a 1.53 mm2 footprint for hybrid integration of a flexible probe and a 256-channel integrated circuit chip. To achieve such a compact form factor, we developed a custom flip-chip bonding technique using anisotropic conductive film and analog circuit-under-pad in a tiny pitch of 75 m. To enhance signal-to-noise ratios, we applied a reference-replica topology that can provide the matched input impedance for signal and reference paths in low-noise aimpliers (LNAs). The analog front-end (AFE) consists of LNAs, buffers, programmable gain amplifiers, 10b ADCs, a reference generator, a digital controller, and serial-peripheral interfaces (SPIs). The AFE consumes 51.92 W from 1.2 V and 1.8 V supplies in an area of 0.0161 mm2 per channel, implemented in a 180 nm CMOS process. The AFE shows > 60 dB mid-band CMRR, 6.32 Vrms input-referred noise from 0.5 Hz to 10 kHz, and 48 M input impedance at 1 kHz. The fabricated AFE chip was directly flip-chip bonded with a 256-channel flexible polyimide neural probe and assembled in a tiny head-stage PCB. Full functionalities of the fabricated 256-channel interface were validated in both in vitro and in vivo experiments, demonstrating the presented hybrid neural recording interface is suitable for various neuroscience studies in the quest of large scale, miniaturized recording systems.

Beyond Conventional Patterns: New Electrochemical Lithography with High Precision for Patterned Film Materials and Wearable Sensors

We report a simple, low-cost, and brand-new electrochemical lithography technique for replicating the template pattern with high resolution at ∼2 μm. The developed method is that the electroactive material is first deposited on the patterned conductive template by the electrochemical technique and then peeled by an adhesive tape/material. The resulting film with the precise pattern shows excellent mechanical and electronic properties and promises high prospect in designing flexible electronics. This interesting approach can be performed at ambient conditions and easily generalized to pattern various electroactive materials covering metal, alloy, nonmetal, salt, oxide, and composite on different types of substrates in several seconds to a few minutes, making the mass production of flexible/rigid/stretchable patterned thin films quite possible.

Vagus nerve stimulation: state of the art of stimulation and recording strategies to address autonomic function neuromodulation

OBJECTIVE

Neural signals along the vagus nerve (VN) drive many somatic and autonomic functions. The clinical interest of VN stimulation (VNS) is thus potentially huge and has already been demonstrated in epilepsy. However, side effects are often elicited, in addition to the targeted neuromodulation.

APPROACH

This review examines the state of the art of VNS applied to two emerging modulations of autonomic function: heart failure and obesity, especially morbid obesity.

MAIN RESULTS

We report that VNS may benefit from improved stimulation delivery using very advanced technologies. However, most of the results from fundamental animal studies still need to be demonstrated in humans.

Soft implantable microelectrodes for future medicine: prosthetics, neural signal recording and neuromodulation

Implantable devices have provided various potential diagnostic options and therapeutic methods in diverse medical fields. A variety of hard-material-based implantable electrodes have been developed. However, several limitations for their chronic implantation remain, including mechanical mismatches at the interface between the electrode and the soft tissue, and biocompatibility. Soft-material-based implantable devices are suitable candidates for complementing the limitations of hard electrodes. Advances in microtechnology and materials science have largely solved many challenges, such as optimization of shape, minimization of infection, enhancement of biocompatibility and integration with components for diverse functions. Significant strides have also been made in mechanical matching of electrodes to soft tissue. In this review, we provide an overview of recent advances in soft-material-based implantable electrodes for medical applications, categorized according to their implantation site and material composition. We then review specific applications in three categories: neuroprosthetics, neural signal recording, and neuromodulation. Finally, we describe various strategies for the future development and application of implantable, soft-material-based devices.

Flexible Tricolor Flag-liked Microribbons Array with Enhanced Conductive Anisotropy and Multifunctionality

Anisotropically conductive materials are important components in subminiature devices. However, at this stage, some defects have limited practical applications of them, especially low anisotropic degree and high cost. Here, we report novel tricolor flag-liked microribbons array prepared by electrospinning technique. The tricolor flag-liked microribbons array is composed of parallel microribbons, and each microribbon consists of three different regions, just like tricolor flag. The tricolor flag-liked microribbons array is only electrically conductive in the direction parallel to the microribbons, whereas in the perpendicular and thickness directions are insulative. The electrical conductivity along parallel direction reaches up to 8 orders of magnitude higher than that along perpendicular direction. The degree of anisotropy in present study is increased by 2 orders of magnitude than that of the anisotropically conductive material in references reported before. Besides, other functions can be conveniently assembled into tricolor flag-liked microribbons array to realize multifunctionality. Owing to the high electrical anisotropy and multifunctionality, tricolor flag-liked microribbons array will have important applications. Furthermore, a universal technique to prepare microribbons with three functional regions has been established for fabricating excellent multifunctional materials.

A multi-channel, flex-rigid ECoG microelectrode array for visual cortical interfacing

High-density electrocortical (ECoG) microelectrode arrays are promising signal-acquisition platforms for brain-computer interfaces envisioned, e.g., as high-performance communication solutions for paralyzed persons. We propose a multi-channel microelectrode array capable of recording ECoG field potentials with high spatial resolution. The proposed array is of a 150 mm2 total recording area; it has 124 circular electrodes (100, 300 and 500 µm in diameter) situated on the edges of concentric hexagons (min. 0.8 mm interdistance) and a skull-facing reference electrode (2.5 mm2 surface area). The array is processed as a free-standing device to enable monolithic integration of a rigid interposer, designed for soldering of fine-pitch SMD-connectors on a minimal assembly area. Electrochemical characterization revealed distinct impedance spectral bands for the 100, 300 and 500 µm-type electrodes, and for the array's own reference. Epidural recordings from the primary visual cortex (V1) of an awake Rhesus macaque showed natural electrophysiological signals and clear responses to standard visual stimulation. The ECoG electrodes of larger surface area recorded signals with greater spectral power in the gamma band, while the skull-facing reference electrode provided higher average gamma power spectral density (γPSD) than the common average referencing technique.

Fabrication and application of flexible graphene silk composite film electrodes decorated with spiky Pt nanospheres

A free-standing graphene silk composite (G/S) film was fabricated via vacuum filtration of a mixed suspension of graphene oxide and silk fibres, followed by chemical reduction. Spiky structured Pt nanospheres were grown on the film substrate by cyclic voltammetry electrodeposition. The electrical and mechanical performance of a single graphene coated silk fibre was investigated. The conductivity of a single graphene coated silk fibre is 57.9 S m(-1). During 1000 bending measurements, the conductivity was stable and showed negligible variation. The G/S film has a sheet resistivity of 90 Ω □(-1) with a porous and hierarchical structure. The spiky Pt nanosphere decorated G/S film was directly used as a H₂O₂ electrode with a sensitivity of 0.56 mA mM(-1) cm(-2), a linear range of 0-2.5 mM and an ultralow detection limit of 0.2 μM (S/N = 3). A glucose biosensor electrode was further fabricated by enzyme immobilization. The results show a sensitivity of 150.8 μA mM(-1) cm(-2) and a low detection limit of 1 μM (S/N = 3) for glucose detection. The strategy of coating graphene sheets on a silk fibre surface provides a new approach for developing electrically conductive biomaterials, tissue engineering scaffolds, bendable electrodes, and wearable biomedical devices.

A method for stable electrical connection of a multi-channeled polyimide electrode with PCB

We propose a novel packaging method of a thin polyimide multichannel microelectrode. For the simple electrical connection of polyimide (PI) electrodes, we made a via-hole at the interconnection pads of thin PI electrodes, and constructed a Ni ring by electroplating through the via-hole for the stable soldering and strong adhesion of the electrode to PCB. For the construction of a well-organized Ni ring, the electroplating condition was optimized, and the electrical property of the packaged electrode was evaluated. A 40 channel thin PI electrode was fabricated and packaged by the proposed method, and we performed the animal experiment with this packaged electrode for the high-resolution recording of neural signals from the skull of a rat.