A wireless neural interface for chronic recording

Abstract

A primary goal of the integrated neural interface project (INIP) is to develop a wireless, implantable device capable of recording neural activity from 100 micromachined electrodes. The heart of this recording system is a low-power integrated circuit that amplifies 100 weak neural signals, detects spikes with programmable threshold-crossing circuits, and returns these data via digital radio telemetry. The chip receives power, clock, and command signals through a coil-to-coil inductive link. Here we report that the isolated integrated circuit successfully recorded and wirelessly transmitted digitized electrical activity from peripheral nerve and cortex at 15.7 kS/s. The chip also simultaneously performed accurate on-chip spike detection and wirelessly transmitted the spike threshold-crossing data. We also present preliminary successful results from full system integration and packaging.