Refinitiv Newscasts - Swiss scientists develop soft brain implant

BioElectronics

11/05/2023 10:16

Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_ug218ad9&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2023:newsml_RW162211052023RP1_K15&pageId=RefinitivNewscasts
Source: Thomson Reuters

Description: Drawing on their expertise in soft robotics and actuation, a team
of Swiss scientists have developed a soft electrode array, which could be used
to treat epilepsy and other neurological disorders. Gabe Singer reports.
Short Link: https://refini.tv/3pzglkA

Video Transcript:

It fits through a tiny hole in the skull and fans out to sit on the surface of
the brain. An electrode developed by Swiss scientists to monitor brain
activity in a safer and less invasive way.

We decided to work on this project because we had a request from a colleague
neurosurgeon asking us to find ways to insert, implant at the surface of the
brain in a minimally invasive manner, meaning that we should make the smallest
hole possible in the skull in order to position the electrode on the surface
of the brain.

The work was inspired by a neurosurgeon who wanted to able to connect a large
area of the surface of the brain, without removing the same amount of the
patient’s skull. The device has six arms and is folded inside a
cylindrical capsule - called a loader. It’s so small and so soft that it
can fit through a hole in the skull that’s less than half an inch in
diameter. The electrode is then deployed one arm at a time quadrupling in
diameter and maximizing contact with the cortex. The soft material of the
mechanism minimizes pressure on sensitive brain tissue.

This is an example of the system when it is fully deployed. So, you have to
imagine that this sort of a flower shape is now sitting at the surface of the
of the brain and this little vile that you have at the surface is a loading
the structure where initially all of the petals are folded in.

The challenge was to find the right materials, so soft materials, and then
materials that are electrically active. So, we could make electrodes to record
information from the brain which could sustain a large deformation.

The soft electrode array could be used provide minimally invasive solutions
for people like epilepsy patients. The device will be able to record seizures
and data collected from the device would in turn be used to inform treatment.
It’s already been successfully tested on a pig, and is set for production
by Swiss medical manufacturer Neurosoft Bioelectronics