Wireless, ultra-thin, high-res sensor records single-neuron activity deep in the brain

Amazing stuff! What is going on inside the skull? We are learning more!

"... A gold standard approach used in a wide variety of neurological disorders, such as treatment-resistant epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease, is stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG), where implanted electrodes record brain activity and/or provide direct electrical stimulation to specific brain regions. However, many electrode arrays currently used in the clinical setting have limited spatial resolution and are unable to record from small, discrete neuronal populations, let alone single neurons. ...
Wireless, customizable, minimally invasive and a fraction of the width of a human hair, the device can provide high-resolution recordings from deep inside the brain as well as deliver therapeutic electrical stimulation. ...
The key to the micro-stereo-electroencephalography (µSEEG) device’s capabilities is its unique manufacturing process, derived from existing technologies used to make digital display screens. The probes are ‘monolithic’ – individual components are stacked on top of one another to create a single cohesive unit – removing the need to assemble additional wires to take recordings. It also means the probe is only 15 microns thick, which is about one-fifth the width of a human hair, and 1.2 mm wide. Their tiny size minimizes damage to brain tissue upon insertion and extraction. ..."

"... Right now, the probes can record with up to 128 channels, while the state of the art in today’s clinical probes is only 8 to 16 channels. In future, the innovative manufacturing approach the researchers developed can expand the number of channels to thousands per probe, dramatically enhancing physicians’ ability to acquire, analyze and understand brain signals at a higher resolution. ...
While the Nature Communications paper reports brain-recording data only, the system has been developed to both record brain activity and provide electrical stimulation to precise locations. ..."

From the abstract:

"Over the past decade, stereotactically placed electrodes have become the gold standard for deep brain recording and stimulation for a wide variety of neurological and psychiatric diseases. Current electrodes, however, are limited in their spatial resolution and ability to record from small populations of neurons, let alone individual neurons. Here, we report on an innovative, customizable, monolithically integrated human-grade flexible depth electrode capable of recording from up to 128 channels and able to record at a depth of 10 cm in brain tissue. This thin, stylet-guided depth electrode is capable of recording local field potentials and single unit neuronal activity (action potentials), validated across species. This device represents an advance in manufacturing and design approaches which extends the capabilities of a mainstay technology in clinical neurology."

Ultra-thin, high-res sensor records single-neuron activity deep in the brain

Transforming Clinical Recording of Deep Brain Activity with a New Take on Sensor Manufacturing (Source: UCLA) The new approach allows minimally-invasive, high-resolution recording as deep as 10cm/4in inside the human brain

Flexible, scalable, high channel count stereo-electrode for recording in the human brain (open access)

These ultra-thin, flexible and customizable probes, are made of clinical-grade materials.