Ultrasonically actuated inserted neural probes for increased recording reliability

Abstract

In this paper we investigated the effect of ultrasonic insertion of neural probes on tissue induced immune response. We report reduction of the activated microglia population by a factor of 1.96, measured over 18 insertions. This suggests decreased immune response for neural probes inserted using ultrasonic insertion. This addresses a key requirement of increasing the operational lifetime of neural probe recording sites. A wirelessly connected neural probe system is used for in vivo electrical, mechanical, and ultrasonic response measurement. A chronic mouse model with in vivo two-photon excited fluorescence microscopy combined with the neural interface is developed to investigate the immune response of the brain, as a potential cause for microelectrode failure with continuous electrical neural measurements.