Origami-inspired soft fluidic actuation for minimally invasive large-area electrocorticography

Journal article

Electrocorticography is an established neural interfacing technique wherein an array of electrodes enables large-area recording from the cortical surface. Electrocorticography is commonly used for seizure mapping however the implantation of large-area electrocorticography arrays is a highly invasive procedure, requiring a craniotomy larger than the implant area to place the device. In this work, flexible thin-film electrode arrays are combined with concepts from soft robotics, to realize a large-area electrocorticography device that can change shape via integrated fluidic actuators. We show that the 32-electrode device can be packaged using origami-inspired folding into a compressed state and implanted through a small burr-hole craniotomy, then expanded on the surface of the brain for large-area cortical coverage. The implantation, expansion, and recording functionality of the device is confirmed in-vitro and in porcine in-vivo models. The integration of shape actuation into neural implants provides a clinically viable pathway to realize large-area neural interfaces via minimally invasive surgical techniques.

Authors: Coles, L; Ventrella, D; Carnicer-Lombarte, A; Elmi, A; Troughton, JG

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 1
• Article number: 6290
• Publication date: 2024-07-26
• Acceptance date: 2024-07-16
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50597-2
• EISSN: 2041-1723
• ISSN: 2041-1723
• Language: English