Soft and stretchable implantable electrode arrays

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Hello,
One observation I made about the field of neuromodulation is that the old implantable electrode design involving platinum wire welded to platinum electrodes is limiting the spectrum of applications of neuromodulation. Since the first pacemaker a lot of progress has happened (smaller batteries, smaller electronics, smaller packaging, smart algorithms, wireless communications) but what remained almost unchanged is the electrode design: wires and electrodes encapsulated in silicone. There are technologies out there that enable thinner, softer, more conformable electrode arrays allowing a neurosurgeon to interface regions of the body where standard electrodes cannot go because they are too bulky or too rigid. Also electrodes that can better conform to the neural tissue will perform better because the distance to the tissue is greatly reduced and the risk of damaging tissue or breaking the electrode is also reduced.
Do you think the actual leads and electrodes (>50 years old design) will be replaced (even partially for some applications) by some new technology? If so, when and for what application? What are the remaining hurdles?
Regards,
Alexandre Larmagnac

Alexandre Larmagnac
80 months ago

0 answers

Have some input?