Design of an optrode for next generation brain-machine interfaces

该项目计划使用一种新型液晶——变形螺旋铁电（DHF）液晶——来感知细胞外生物电位。在对外加电场的响应中，已经证明DHF晶体可以调制偏振光源，具有非凡的灵敏度和线性响应，低至微伏范围。利用这项技术，该项目计划首先在工作台上设计和测试一个单光极装置，然后使用双光子显微镜进行体外测试和表征。最终的设计将是使用光纤光源和多个光耦合器的高密度传感器阵列。这可能会支持在体内植入传感和诊断设备的新方法的发展。

The project plans to use a new class of liquid crystals – deformed helix ferroelectric (DHF) liquid crystal – to sense extracellular biopotentials. In response to an applied electrical field, it has been shown that DHF crystals can modulate a polarised light source with extraordinary sensitivity and linear response down to the microvolt range. Using this technology, the project plans to initially design and test a single optrode device on the bench, before in vitro testing and characterisation using two-photon microscopy. The final design would be a higher density sensor array using a fibre optic source and multiple optical couplers. This may support the development of new ways to implant sensing and diagnostic devices in the body.