Reconfigurable semiconductor technology for advanced neural implants

神经系统疾病是导致残疾的首要原因，也是全球第二大致死原因。监测和治疗这些疾病是极其困难的，因为靶点被包裹在厚厚的骨骼中，循环系统中的特殊膜阻止了许多药物。先进的神经植入物，包括放置在头骨或脊柱内的电子设备，是一项令人兴奋的技术，可以彻底改变我们对大脑的理解，并治疗相关疾病-使人们能够再次行走；儿童能够第一次听到；或者缓解癫痫或帕金森氏症的症状。然而，这些设备需要复杂的电子设备，对尺寸和功率有严格的限制，同时还符合最严格的监管要求(主动植入式医疗设备)。因此，植入物的开发可能需要数年时间和数亿英镑-对于创新者、投资者和中小型公司来说，这是一个主要的障碍和风险。我们的愿景是创造一套满足这些挑战的模块化芯片(或称微芯片)。先进的包装技术将这些结合到微型系统中，使公司和研究人员能够快速满足不同的需求。通过这种方式，我们将植入物的尺寸和功耗降至最低，为手术开辟了新的方法(类似于转向锁孔手术)，降低了患者的风险。该项目是Mint NeuroTechnologies、琥珀治疗公司和伦敦帝国理工学院合作的项目，目的是共同创造一种“芯片组”(一组为特定应用而设计的芯片)，并将其封装到一种设备中。这将首先构成治疗混合性尿失禁的医疗设备的电子设备(市场上还没有其他治疗方法)，并将揭开第一次应用之外的新设备疗法的序幕。从长远来看，这些芯片组和封装能力将使植入物的开发更快、更便宜，使患有更罕见或目前未治疗的神经疾病的患者能够获得这项技术。

Neurological conditions are the leading cause of disability and the second cause of deaths worldwide. Monitoring and treating these diseases is incredibly difficult as targets are encased in thick bone and special membranes in the circulatory system block many drugs.Advanced neural implants, comprising electronics placed inside the skull or spine, are an exciting technology that could revolutionise our understanding of the brain and treat associated conditions---enabling people to walk again; children to hear for the first time; or relieving the symptoms of epilepsy or Parkinson's disease.However, such devices require complex electronics with tight constraints on size and power, whilst also complying with the most stringent regulatory requirements (Active Implantable Medical Devices). As a result, implants can take years and hundreds of millions of pounds to develop---a major barrier and risk for innovators, investors, and small-medium sized companies.Our vision is to create a set of modular chips (or microchips) that meet these challenges. Advanced packaging techniques combine these together into tiny systems to enable companies and researchers to rapidly address different needs. In this way, we minimise implant size and power consumption, opening up new approaches for surgery (akin to the switch to keyhole surgery) that reduce risks to patients.This project is a collaboration between Mint Neurotechnologies, Amber Therapeutics, and Imperial College London to co-create a "chipset" (group of chips designed to work together for a specific application) and package it into a device. This will first constitute the electronics of a medical device for treating mixed urinary incontinence (no other treatment available on the market yet) and will unlock new device therapies beyond the first application.More long-term, these chipset and packaging capabilities will enable faster, cheaper development of implants, making the technology accessible for patients with rarer or currently untreated neurological conditions.