Perforated silicon nerve chips with doped registration electrodes: in vitro performance and in vivo operation

Biocompatibility and magnetic resonance imaging characteristics of carbon nanotube yarn neural electrodes in a rat model

BACKGROUND

Implantation of deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes is a landmark therapy for movement disorders and some mental conditions. Compared to conventional platinum-iridium (Pt-Ir) electrodes, carbon nanotube yarns (CNTY) electrodes have improved stability and interface characteristics with less distortion during high field strength MRI. Sprague-Dawley rat models were used to examine thein vivo histological and imaging properties of biocompatible CNTY throughout the subacute period.

METHODS

Sprague-Dawley rats received CNTY (n = 16) or Pt-Ir control (n = 16) electrodes. Behavioral markers, body weight, and survival were recorded. Comparative histology (HE, NeuN, CD68, and GFAP) was performed at 1, 6, and 12 weeks post-implantation; 3.0T MRI was performed at 1 and 12 weeks.

RESULTS

Of 32 rats, 30 (15 per group) survived implantation without reduced activity, paralysis, or incapacity to feed. Following implantation, progressive decreases in macrophage activation and neuron-depleted margins surrounding electrodes were observed in both groups. Inflammatory marker expression (CD68) was significantly lower in rats with implanted CNTY electrodes compared to controls at all time points. CNTY electrodes also caused less inflammation and shallower depths of macrophage penetration and neural disruption relative to the interface. Artifacts and distortion were observed on MRI of Pt-Ir but not CNTY electrodes.

CONCLUSIONS

CNTY electrodes exhibited reduced inflammatory margins compared to Pt-Ir electrodes throughout the subacute period, indicating reduced initial trauma, better overall biocompatibility, and reduced fibrous tissue formation. Coupled with less MRI distortion, CNTY electrodes may be useful alternatives when there is a need to monitor electrode placement by MRI.

In vivo testing of a 3D bifurcating microchannel scaffold inducing separation of regenerating axon bundles in peripheral nerves

Artificial nerve guidance channels enhance the regenerative effectiveness in an injured peripheral nerve but the existing design so far has been limited to basic straight tubes simply guiding the growth to bridge the gap. Hence, one of the goals in development of more effective neuroprostheses is to create bidirectional highly selective neuro-electronic interface between a prosthetic device and the severed nerve. A step towards improving selectivity for both recording and stimulation have been made with some recent in vitro studies which showed that three-dimensional (3D) bifurcating microchannels can separate neurites growing on a planar surface and bring them into contact with individual electrodes. Since the growing axons in vivo have the innate tendency to group in bundles surrounded by connective tissue, one of the big challenges in neuro-prosthetic interface design is how to overcome it. Therefore, we performed experiments with 3D bifurcating guidance scaffolds implanted in the sciatic nerve of rats to test if this new channel architecture could trigger separation pattern of ingrowth also in vivo. Our results showed that this new method enabled the re-growth of neurites into channels with gradually diminished width (80, 40 and 20 µm) and facilitated the separation of the axonal bundles with 91% success. It seems that the 3D bifurcating scaffold might contribute towards conveying detailed neural control and sensory feedback to users of prosthetic devices, and thus could improve the quality of their daily life.

A regenerative microchannel neural interface for recording from and stimulating peripheral axons in vivo

Neural interfaces are implanted devices that couple the nervous system to electronic circuitry. They are intended for long term use to control assistive technologies such as muscle stimulators or prosthetics that compensate for loss of function due to injury. Here we present a novel design of interface for peripheral nerves. Recording from axons is complicated by the small size of extracellular potentials and the concentration of current flow at nodes of Ranvier. Confining axons to microchannels of ~100 µm diameter produces amplified potentials that are independent of node position. After implantation of microchannel arrays into rat sciatic nerve, axons regenerated through the channels forming 'mini-fascicles', each typically containing ~100 myelinated fibres and one or more blood vessels. Regenerated motor axons reconnected to distal muscles, as demonstrated by the recovery of an electromyogram and partial prevention of muscle atrophy. Efferent motor potentials and afferent signals evoked by muscle stretch or cutaneous stimulation were easily recorded from the mini-fascicles and were in the range of 35-170 µV. Individual motor units in distal musculature were activated from channels using stimulus currents in the microampere range. Microchannel interfaces are a potential solution for applications such as prosthetic limb control or enhancing recovery after nerve injury.

BioMEMS -Advancing the Frontiers of Medicine

Biological and medical application of micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) is currently seen as an area of high potential impact. Integration of biology and microtechnology has resulted in the development of a number of platforms for improving biomedical and pharmaceutical technologies. This review provides a general overview of the applications and the opportunities presented by MEMS in medicine by classifying these platforms according to their applications in the medical field.

Microchannels as axonal amplifiers

An implantable neural interface capable of reliable long-term high-resolution recording from peripheral nerves has yet to be developed. Device design is challenging because extracellular axonal signals are very small, decay rapidly with distance from the axon, and in myelinated fibres are concentrated close to nodes of Ranvier, which are around 1 mum long and spaced several hundred micrometers apart. We present a finite element model examining the electrical behavior of axons in microchannels, and demonstrate that confining axons in such channels substantially amplifies the extracellular signal. For example, housing a 10-microm myelinated axon in a 1-cm-long channel with a 1000-microm(2) cross section is predicted to generate a peak extracellular voltage of over 10 mV. Furthermore, there is little radial signal decay within the channel, and a smooth axial variation of signal amplitude along the channel, irrespective of node location. Additional benefits include a greater extracellular voltage generated by large myelinated fibres compared to small unmyelinated axons, and the reduction of gain to unity at the end of the channel which ensures that there can be no crosstalk with electrodes in other channels nearby. A microchannel architecture seems well suited to the requirements of a peripheral nerve interface.

Neural prostheses and biomedical microsystems in neurological rehabilitation

Interfaces between electrodes and the neural system differ with respect to material and shape depending on their intended application and fabrication method. This chapter will review the different electrode designs regarding the technological implementation and fabrication process. Furthermore this book chapter will describe electrodes for interfacing the peripheral nerves like cuff, book or helix as well as electrodes for interfacing the cortex like needle arrays. The implantation method and mechanical interaction between the electrode and the nervous tissue were taken into consideration. To develop appropriate microtechnological assembling strategies that ensure proper interfacing between the tiny electrodes and microelectronics or connectors is one of the major challenges. The integration of electronics into the system helps to improve the reliability of detecting neural signals and reduces the size of the implants. Promising results with these novel electrodes will pave the road for future developments such as visual prosthetics or improved control of artificial limbs in paralyzed patients.

Design, in vitro and in vivo assessment of a multi-channel sieve electrode with integrated multiplexer

This paper reports on the design, in vitro and in vivo investigation of a flexible, lightweight, polyimide based implantable sieve electrode with a hybrid assembly of multiplexers and polymer encapsulation. The integration of multiplexers enables us to connect a large number of electrodes on the sieve using few input connections. The implant assembly of the sieve electrode with the electronic circuitry was verified by impedance measurement. The 27 platinum electrodes of the sieve were coated with platinum black to reduce the electrode impedance. The impedance magnitude of the electrode sites on the sieve (geometric surface area 2,200 microm(2)) was |Z(f=1kHz)| = 5.7 kOmega. The sieve electrodes, encased in silicone, have been implanted in the transected sciatic nerve of rats. Initial experiments showed that axons regenerated through the holes of the sieve and reinnervated distal target organs. Nerve signals were recorded in preliminary tests after 3-7 months post-implantation.

Classification of motor commands using a modified self-organising feature map

In this paper, a control system for an advanced prosthesis is proposed and has been investigated in two different biological systems: (1) the spinal withdrawal reflex system of a rat and (2) voluntary movements in two human males: one normal subject and one subject with a traumatic hand amputation. The small-animal system was used as a model system to test different processing methods for the prosthetic control system. The best methods were then validated in the human set-up. The recorded EMGs were classified using different ANN algorithms, and it was found that a modified self-organising feature map (SOFM) composed of a combination of a Kohonen network and the conscience mechanism algorithm (KNC) was superior in performance to the reference networks (e.g. multi-layer perceptrons) as regards training time, low memory consumption, and simplicity in finding optimal training parameters and architecture. The KNC network classified both experimental set-ups with high accuracy, including five movements for the animal set-up and seven for the human set-up.

Selective electrical interfaces with the nervous system

To achieve selective electrical interfacing to the neural system it is necessary to approach neuronal elements on a scale of micrometers. This necessitates microtechnology fabrication and introduces the interdisciplinary field of neurotechnology, lying at the juncture of neuroscience with microtechnology. The neuroelectronic interface occurs where the membrane of a cell soma or axon meets a metal microelectrode surface. The seal between these may be narrow or may be leaky. In the latter case the surrounding volume conductor becomes part of the interface. Electrode design for successful interfacing, either for stimulation or recording, requires good understanding of membrane phenomena, natural and evoked action potential generation, volume conduction, and electrode behavior. Penetrating multimicroelectrodes have been produced as one-, two-, and three-dimensional arrays, mainly in silicon, glass, and metal microtechnology. Cuff electrodes circumvent a nerve; their selectivity aims at fascicles more than at nerve fibers. Other types of electrodes are regenerating sieves and cone-ingrowth electrodes. The latter may play a role in brain-computer interfaces. Planar substrate-embedded electrode arrays with cultured neural cells on top are used to study the activity and plasticity of developing neural networks. They also serve as substrates for future so-called cultured probes.

A biohybrid system to interface peripheral nerves after traumatic lesions: design of a high channel sieve electrode

Peripheral nerve lesions lead to nerve degeneration and flaccid paralysis. The first objective in functional rehabilitation of these diseases should be the preservation of the neuro-muscular junction by biological means and following functional electrical stimulation (FES) may restore some function of the paralyzed limb. The combination of biological cells and technical microdevices to biohybrid systems might become a new approach in neural prosthetics research to preserve skeletal muscle function. In this paper, a microdevice for a biohybrid system to interface peripheral nerves after traumatic lesions is presented. The development of the microprobe design and the fabrication technology is described and first experimental results are given and afterwards discussed. The technical microprobe is designed in a way that meets the most important technical requirements: adaptation to the distal nerve stump, suitability to combine the microstructure with a containment for cells, and integrated microelectrodes as information transducers for cell stimulation and monitoring. Micromachining technologies were applied to fabricate a polyimide-based sieve-like microprobe with 19 substrate-integrated ring electrodes and a distributed counter electrode. Monolithic integration of fixation flaps and a three-dimensional shaping technology led to a device that might be adapted to nerve stumps with neurosurgical sutures in the epineurium. First experimental results of the durability of the shaping technology and electrochemical electrode properties were investigated. The three-dimensional shape remained quite stable after sterilization in an autoclave and chronic implantation. Electrode impedance was below 200 kOmega at 1 kHz which ought to permit recording of signals from nerves sprouting through the sieve holes.

Tissue reactions evoked by porous and plane surfaces made out of silicon and titanium

Square-shaped silicon or titanium implants with plane or porous surfaces surrounded by a rim of silicone were implanted in the rat abdominal wall for evaluation of the tissue response after one, six, or 12 weeks. Cell damage was identified as increased membrane permeability using fluorescence microscopy by injection of propidium iodide prior to the killing of the rats. Capsule thickness and immunohistochemical quantification of macrophages were used as a further measure of the foreign-body reaction. There were no significant differences in capsular cell densities for macrophages, total cells (macrophages, fibroblasts, and other cells), or necrotic cells at the different time points for the four surfaces studied. However, significant differences in the kinetics of the response were found between plane surfaces compared with porous ones. Both types of plane surfaces developed a significant increase in capsule thickness over time in contrast to the porous implants. Porous silicon displayed a significant decrease in total cells in the reactive capsule over time. Furthermore, porous silicon and titanium surfaces displayed a significant decrease in total cell numbers at the implant interface between six and 12 weeks. The present study demonstrated that implanted silicon elicited soft-tissue reactions comparable to that of titanium.

The geometric design of micromachined silicon sieve electrodes influences functional nerve regeneration

A neural interface could be used to control a limb prosthesis. Such an interface can be created by facilitating axonal regeneration through a sieve electrode and then register nerve signals intended to control the prosthesis. A key question is how to design the electrodes to ensure the best possible regeneration. Our previous studies have indicated that regeneration can be achieved using electrodes with square-shaped, 100 x 100 microm, via holes (holes that axons will regenerate through). Other reports have indicated a suitable range of these holes between 40 and 65 microm. In the present study we used silicon sieve electrodes with via holes of either 30 or 90 microm. The transparency, i.e. the percentage of the total via hole area, of these electrodes was either 20 or 30%. The electrodes were inserted into a silicone chamber which was used to bridge a gap in a rat sciatic nerve. After 12 weeks of nerve regeneration electrodes with a hole size of 30 microm and a 30% transparency had the most favourable result as judged by the regained gastrocnemius muscle force and the formation of reactive tissue inside the chamber. The sieve electrode transparency is crucial for ensuring regeneration.