AI Insight
Researchers developed a new method using depth-tunable laser drawing to create 3D soft carbon electrode arrays that conform better to the brain's curved surface than conventional flat electrodes. The carbon nanotube-based 3D arrays demonstrated superior electrical recording performance and retained 80.4% of signal quality after 4 months in rabbit brain implants, compared to only 11.7% for standard 2D electrodes. The arrays also produced minimal artifacts during MRI scans, unlike traditional metal electrodes.
Why it matters
This technology could significantly improve long-term brain-computer interfaces and neural recording devices by maintaining signal quality over time while being compatible with medical imaging. The manufacturing approach eliminates complex clean-room processes, potentially making neural interface production more accessible and scalable for clinical applications.
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⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed
Dieser Artikel wurde noch nicht von unabhängigen Experten begutachtet. Die Ergebnisse sind vorläufig und sollten mit Vorsicht interpretiert werden.
Soft neural interfaces are designed to minimize mechanical mismatch with the brain. However, planar and recessed electrode sites remain locally decoupled from the curved and pulsating cortical surface, degrading the fidelity of neural sensing. Here, we report a 3D soft carbon electrode array, enabled by a depth-tunable laser drawing strategy. This laser-driven workflow achieves versatile fabrication of customizable 3D soft carbon neural interfaces, eliminating the reliance on conventional thin-film microfabrication processes. The fully silicone-based electrode structure realize device-scale conformality, and the 3D soft carbon sites promote a non-penetrating, intimate neural-electrode interface. The CNT-3D array combined superior in-vitro electrochemical and in-vivo recording performance compared with Au-2D and CNT-2D controls. Furthermore, in bilateral rabbit cortex implantation, CNT-3D array retained 80.4% of electrocorticography power after 4 months, versus 11.7% for CNT-2D control. Moreover, the 3D sensing sites significantly suppressed line-frequency harmonics and background noise interference. Subsequently, during magnetic resonance imaging, the CNT-3D array exhibits negligible implant-induced artifacts compared to the conventional Pt-Ir metal array. Overall, this work establishes a laser drawing strategy that extends neural interfaces from macro device-scale conformality to micro site-scale coupling, providing a technological pathway for practical and translational soft neurotechnology.
Source: MRI-compatible 3D Soft Carbon Neural Interface Enabled by Versatile Depth-tunable Laser Drawing