Transient Neurovascular Interface for Minimally Invasive Neural Recording and Stimulation

Abstract

time, led to the development of treatments for heavily impairing conditions following traumatic injuries, neurodegenerative diseases, or mental disorders. [1] Although the potential impact of neurotechnology is enormous, its clinical use nowadays is still limited. Many devices require invasive surgery, with related high risks that not always overcome the benefits for the patients. A big step in this direction has been the development of neurovascular interfaces which interact with the neural tissue from within blood vessels. Endovascular procedures are considerably less invasive, are routinely performed and allow for short recovery time. [2] Moreover, neurovascular interfaces do not require craniotomies, reducing the risks associated with the surgical procedure (e.g., susceptibility to seizures). These advantages could increase the chance of patients accepting the treatment.Neurovascular interfaces developed so far are wires or catheters used as electrodes. Even though these solutions opened the doors to endovascular neural recording and stimulation, their main limitations were the short-term application and the low spatial resolution. The introduction of stentelectrode arrays (e.g., Stentrode) overcame these issues, [2] and the advantages of this technology have been recently demonstrated in preclinical and clinical trials for brain-computer-interface. [3][4][5][6] Also, seventeen potential medical targets have been identified where intravascular neuromodulation could replace invasive deep brain stimulation protocols. [7] By accessing the internal cerebral vein or the anterior communicating artery, it would be possible to perform minimally invasive neuromodulation for a wide range of neurological disorders such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, essential tremor, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. [7] Furthermore, neurovascular interfaces could be as well applied to the peripheral system for pain relief, motor deficits, bladder control, and stimulation of muscles, among others. However, the main drawback of stent-electrode arrays is the metallic scaffold. A conductive substrate for electrodes makes insulation critical and shortcuts frequent. [3] Also, metallic stents could induce a strong inflammatory response, that could reduce the performances of a neural interface. [8][9][10][11] For conventional stent technology, this limitation already led to the development of bioresorbable devices, allowing for a better interaction with the tissue and placement in mechanically solicited areas. [12] Neural interfaces are used to mitigate the burden of traumatic injuries, neurodegenerative diseases, and mental disorders. However, the transient or permanent placement of an interface in close contact with the neural tissue requires invasive surgery, potentially entailing both short-and long-term complications. To tackle this problem, a transient neurovascular interface for neural recording and stimulation is developed. This endovascular array has been fabricated with facile molding techniques using solely polymeric mat...

Engineering Materials for Neurotechnology

“…[ 92,93 ] Also, they reduce chronic FBR. [ 94,95 ] So far, transient neurotechnology includes biodegradable sensors for monitoring neural activity, pressure, pH, biomarkers, temperature, motion and blood flow, [ 96–102 ] on‐demand drug delivery systems, [ 103 ] smart stents, [ 104,105 ] power supplies, [ 106–111 ] and neural stimulators (Figure 3c). [ 112–114 ]…”

Recent advances in recording and modulation technologies for next-generation neural interfaces

“…Several works have proved the feasibility of the technique for monitoring high-fidelity neural signals ( Oxley et al., 2016 ), delivering electrical stimulation ( Opie et al., 2018 ), as well as long-term stability ( Opie et al., 2017 ). Moreover, together with the emerging importance of soft and transient neural interfaces, recently there is an approach to develop bio-degradable neurovascular interfaces ( Fanelli et al., 2021 ). Although it only suggests the possibilities by presenting in-vitro analysis, the deployment of neurovascular devices based on slowly degradable polymer and conducting polymer would provide promising results such as improving chronic usability with the aid of soft materials.…”

Creating 3D Objects with Integrated Electronics via Multiphoton Fabrication In Vitro and In Vivo

“…are playing an increasingly important role in these devices (e.g., in flexible/printable electronics, electronic interfaces for the body, etc.). [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Integrated circuits used in electronics worldwide (e.g., for applications including, but not limited to, amplifiers, logic units, sensors, etc.) are typically mass produced in a layer-bylayer approach.…”

“…3,7,11,20,21 22 There are a number of FDA-approved medical devices capable of electrical stimulation within the body, including cardiac pacemakers, bionic eyes, bionic ears and electrodes for deep brain stimulation; all of which are designed for long-term implantation (via a technically challenging surgical procedure). 3 Conducting polymers (e.g., polyaniline, polypyrrole (PPY), poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) PEDOT) can electrically stimulating cells in vitro, and have proven well-tolerated when implanted into small mammals (e.g., mice, rats and rabbits).…”