A Brain Recording Device That Hugs the Brain

posted on Apr 19 by Admin in the Disability News, Spinal Cord Injury, Technology category

Could a brain recording device help with controlling seizures and sending messages to the spinal cord? Scientists have developed a brain implant that when placed in the brain would do exactly so.

“These implants have the potential to maximize the contact between electrodes and brain tissue, while minimizing damage to the brain. They could provide a platform for a range of devices with applications in epilepsy, spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders,” said Walter Koroshetz, M.D., deputy director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health.

A recent study made ultra thin partially silk implants which is capable of recording more material than the thicker implants embedded with similar electronics. For those with epilepsy, the device can record when seizures begin and deliver pulses to shut them down. For those struggling with spinal cord injuries, the device will read complex signals in the brain that direct movement and route signals to healthy muscles or prosthetic devices.

“The focus of our study was to make ultra thin arrays that conform to the complex shape of the brain, and limit the amount of tissue damage and inflammation,” said Brian Litt, M.D., an author on the study and an associate professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia.