The glove is inverted, or turned inside-out, and folded inside of the cylindrical loader. The electrode array actually looks like a kind of rubber glove, with flexible electrodes patterned on one side of each spiral-shaped finger. After deployment through a small hole in the skull, each spiralled arm is gently deployed using an everting actuation mechanism inspired by soft robotics. This electrode array is neatly folded into a cylindrical tube, in the way a butterfly is squeezed inside its cocoon. Straight arms result in uneven electrode distribution and less surface area in contact with the brain. It has 6 spiral-shaped arms, to maximize the surface area of the electrode array, and thus the number of electrodes in contact with the cortex. The first prototype consists of an electrode array that fits through a hole 2 cm in diameter, but when deployed, extends across a surface that’s 4 cm in diameter. There were many forms of novel engineering required, from the shape of the spiralled arms to the deployment of each arm on top of highly sensitive brain tissue. We then combined concepts from soft bioelectronics and soft robotics.” “We needed to design a miniaturized electrode array capable of folding, passing through a small hole in the skull and then deploying in a flat surface resting over the cortex. “Minimally invasive neurotechnologies are essential approaches to offer efficient, patient-tailored therapies,” says Lacour, professor at EPFL Neuro X Institute. Scientist Stephanie Lacour came up with the device in response to a request from a neurosurgeon who gave her team the challenge of inserting a large cortical electrode array through a small hole in the skull, deploying the device in the 1mm gap between the skull and the surface of the brain. Search our library and digital resources.
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