Scientific Achievement
A team of Foundry staff and users has developed a new kind of neural probe that packs the ability to both excite and monitor neuron activity inside tiny package.
Significance and Impact
The new probe is an order of magnitude more condensed than the current state of the art. The techniques used in its fabrication provide a way to add functionality without increasing their size, paving the way for drug delivery systems and possible treatment for neurological diseases
Research Details
- The team designed and fabricated small neural probes – 1 mm long, 45 µm wide, and 20 µm thick – integrating electrical sensors and nanophotonic circuits for neural cell electrical readout and photoactivation.
- The neural probes were tested in preliminary in vivo experiments in mice, where researchers recorded neural activity from specific neurons upon activating them with light.
- Subsequent work demonstrated the addition of a nanophotonic element called directional coupler enabled researchers to achieve multicolor illumination within the same neural probe.
Lanzio, V., Telian, G., Koshelev, A. et al. Microsyst Nanoeng 7, 40 (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41378-021-00263-0
V Lanzio et al 2021 Nanotechnology 32 265201
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