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Almasri RM, Ladouceur F, Mawad D, Esrafilzadeh D, Firth J, Lehmann T, Poole-Warren LA, Lovell NH, Al Abed A. Emerging trends in the development of flexible optrode arrays for electrophysiology. APL Bioeng 2023; 7:031503. [PMID: 37692375 PMCID: PMC10491464 DOI: 10.1063/5.0153753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Optical-electrode (optrode) arrays use light to modulate excitable biological tissues and/or transduce bioelectrical signals into the optical domain. Light offers several advantages over electrical wiring, including the ability to encode multiple data channels within a single beam. This approach is at the forefront of innovation aimed at increasing spatial resolution and channel count in multichannel electrophysiology systems. This review presents an overview of devices and material systems that utilize light for electrophysiology recording and stimulation. The work focuses on the current and emerging methods and their applications, and provides a detailed discussion of the design and fabrication of flexible arrayed devices. Optrode arrays feature components non-existent in conventional multi-electrode arrays, such as waveguides, optical circuitry, light-emitting diodes, and optoelectronic and light-sensitive functional materials, packaged in planar, penetrating, or endoscopic forms. Often these are combined with dielectric and conductive structures and, less frequently, with multi-functional sensors. While creating flexible optrode arrays is feasible and necessary to minimize tissue-device mechanical mismatch, key factors must be considered for regulatory approval and clinical use. These include the biocompatibility of optical and photonic components. Additionally, material selection should match the operating wavelength of the specific electrophysiology application, minimizing light scattering and optical losses under physiologically induced stresses and strains. Flexible and soft variants of traditionally rigid photonic circuitry for passive optical multiplexing should be developed to advance the field. We evaluate fabrication techniques against these requirements. We foresee a future whereby established telecommunications techniques are engineered into flexible optrode arrays to enable unprecedented large-scale high-resolution electrophysiology systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reem M. Almasri
- Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | | | - Damia Mawad
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Dorna Esrafilzadeh
- Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Josiah Firth
- Australian National Fabrication Facility, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Torsten Lehmann
- School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | | | | | - Amr Al Abed
- Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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Uenaka M, Nagamura H, Okamoto A, Hiryu S, Kobayasi KI, Tamai Y. Feasibility evaluation of transtympanic laser stimulation of the cochlea from the outer ear. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 152:1850. [PMID: 36182303 DOI: 10.1121/10.0014241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Infrared laser stimulation has been studied as an alternative approach to auditory prostheses. This study evaluated the feasibility of infrared laser stimulation of the cochlea from the outer ear, bypassing the middle ear function. An optic fiber was inserted into the ear canal, and a laser was used to irradiate the cochlea through the tympanic membrane in Mongolian gerbils. A pulsed infrared laser (6.9 mJ/cm2) and clicking sound (70 peak-to-peak equivalent sound pressure level) were presented to the animals. The amplitude of the laser-evoked cochlear response was systematically decreased following insertion of a filter between the tympanic membrane and cochlea; however, the auditory-evoked cochlear response did not decrease. The filter was removed, and the laser-evoked response returned to around the original level. The amplitude ratio and the relative change in response amplitude before and during filter insertion significantly decreased as the absorbance of the infrared filter increased. These results indicate that laser irradiation could bypass the function of the middle ear and directly activate the cochlea. Therefore, laser irradiation from the outer ear is a possible alternative for stimulating the cochlea, circumventing the middle ear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miku Uenaka
- Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Hidekazu Nagamura
- Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Aya Okamoto
- Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Shizuko Hiryu
- Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Kohta I Kobayasi
- Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Yuta Tamai
- Organization for Research Initiatives and Development, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, Japan
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Kaszas A, Szalay G, Slézia A, Bojdán A, Vanzetta I, Hangya B, Rózsa B, O'Connor R, Moreau D. Two-photon GCaMP6f imaging of infrared neural stimulation evoked calcium signals in mouse cortical neurons in vivo. Sci Rep 2021; 11:9775. [PMID: 33963220 PMCID: PMC8105372 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-89163-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Infrared neural stimulation is a promising tool for stimulating the brain because it can be used to excite with high spatial precision without the need of delivering or inserting any exogenous agent into the tissue. Very few studies have explored its use in the brain, as most investigations have focused on sensory or motor nerve stimulation. Using intravital calcium imaging with the genetically encoded calcium indicator GCaMP6f, here we show that the application of infrared neural stimulation induces intracellular calcium signals in Layer 2/3 neurons in mouse cortex in vivo. The number of neurons exhibiting infrared-induced calcium response as well as the amplitude of those signals are shown to be both increasing with the energy density applied. By studying as well the spatial extent of the stimulation, we show that reproducibility of the stimulation is achieved mainly in the central part of the infrared beam path. Stimulating in vivo at such a degree of precision and without any exogenous chromophores enables multiple applications, from mapping the brain's connectome to applications in systems neuroscience and the development of new therapeutic tools for investigating the pathological brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Attila Kaszas
- Mines Saint-Etienne, Centre CMP, Département BEL, F - 13541, Gardanne, France
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS UMR 7289 & Aix-Marseille Université, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Gergely Szalay
- Laboratory of 3D Functional Network and Dendritic Imaging, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Budapest, 1083, Hungary
| | - Andrea Slézia
- Mines Saint-Etienne, Centre CMP, Département BEL, F - 13541, Gardanne, France
- Lendület Laboratory of Systems Neuroscience, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Budapest, 1083, Hungary
| | - Alexandra Bojdán
- Laboratory of 3D Functional Network and Dendritic Imaging, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Budapest, 1083, Hungary
| | - Ivo Vanzetta
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS UMR 7289 & Aix-Marseille Université, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Balázs Hangya
- Lendület Laboratory of Systems Neuroscience, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Budapest, 1083, Hungary
| | - Balázs Rózsa
- Laboratory of 3D Functional Network and Dendritic Imaging, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Budapest, 1083, Hungary
- Two-Photon Laboratory, Faculty of Information Technology, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, 1083, Hungary
| | - Rodney O'Connor
- Mines Saint-Etienne, Centre CMP, Département BEL, F - 13541, Gardanne, France
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS UMR 7289 & Aix-Marseille Université, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - David Moreau
- Mines Saint-Etienne, Centre CMP, Département BEL, F - 13541, Gardanne, France.
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