Connecting to the brain with bundled microwires
Connecting to the brain with bundled microwires
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通过捆绑的微线连接到大脑
DOI：
10.1038/s41928-020-0407-y
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发表时间：
2020
影响因子：
34.3
通讯作者：
C. Varnava
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
C. Varnava
可以将大脑神经元连接到数字设备的生物电子接口可能在假肢等医疗技术中很有用。探测神经活动的一种方法是使用硅微电极阵列，但这些方法只能测量相对少量神经元的活动，并且是侵入性的。已经开发出与互补金属氧化物半导体（CMOS）工艺兼容的大型平面微电极阵列，但是由于互连的复杂性，缩放这些接口是具有挑战性的。Andreas Schaefer、Nicholas Melosh及其同事现在已经开发出一种三维神经接口，该接口基于捆绑的微丝阵列，可以很容易地与CMOS硬件结合，并造成最小的组织损伤。这些研究人员来自斯坦福大学、伦敦的弗朗西斯克里克研究所、伦敦大学学院和ETH苏黎世，他们将绝缘的微导线排列成束，然后将它们垂直连接到CMOS阵列上。束的尖端被蚀刻以暴露裸露的金属微丝，然后被压到阵列上以实现电接触。测量结果表明，管束接触给系统增加的噪声非常小。通过调整每条微细线蚀刻的深度，可以创建各种横向和垂直探测轮廓。为了说明他们的方法的能力，Schaefer，Melosh和同事们对清醒运动小鼠大脑的运动皮层区域进行了体内测量。与其他体内成像技术相比，CMOS束设备可以记录来自数百个神经元和更深大脑区域的尖峰活动，同时最大限度地减少对大脑区域的损伤。
Bioelectronic interfaces that can connect the neurons of the brain to digital devices could be useful in medical technologies such as prosthetics. One approach for probing neural activity is to use silicon microelectrode arrays, but these can only measure activity from a relatively small number of neurons and are invasive. Large, planar microelectrode arrays that are compatible with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) processes have been developed, but scaling these interfaces is challenging because of the complexity of the interconnections. Andreas Schaefer, Nicholas Melosh and colleagues have now developed a three-dimensional neural interface based on arrays of bundled microwires that can be easily combined with CMOS hardware and causes minimal tissue damage. The researchers—who are based at Stanford University, the Francis Crick Institute in London, University College London, and ETH Zurich—arranged insulated microwires into bundles, before connecting them perpendicularly to a CMOS array. The tips of the bundles were etched to expose the bare metal microwire before being pressed onto the array to achieve an electrical contact. Measurements showed that the bundle contact added very little noise to the system. By adjusting the depth of each microwire etch, it was possible to create various lateral and vertical probing profiles. To illustrate the capabilities of their approach, Schaefer, Melosh and colleagues took in vivo measurements of the motor cortex region of the brains of awake moving mice. In contrast to other in vivo imaging techniques, the CMOS-bundle devices can record spiking activity from hundreds of neurons and from deeper brain areas, while minimizing damage to the brain areas above.