Interest

Implant-life-long monitoring of the electrode status

Summary

Long-term stable, implantable brain-machine interfaces require a stable electrode/tissue interface. In this project, we will address the electrochemical in situ investigation of the electrode over its life-time. We developed a sensing protocol that was successfully employed in animal models to monitor the chemical microenvironment in the brain. At the same time, it was able to restore and quantify loss of electrode function during implantation. The concept of turning an already implanted electrode into an ultimately in situ sensor is very promising. We aim to further enhance these protocols with knowledge of the platinum surface electrochemistry and advanced methods in order to monitor the electrode status. Our approach has the potential to serve as an online quality control or recovery method for the electrodes of any neural implant over its entire lifetime.