Grant: Alliance Grants

In 2015, 6.39 % of the total global burden of disease measured in disability-adjusted life years was attributed to neurological disorders. Due to this severity, the past decade has seen an explosion of neuroresearchers on brain-computer interface (BCI) devices. For instance, implantable electrodes and arrays, commonly known as neural probes, have been successfully demonstrated with safe interventions to stimulate neural tissues or sense individual neuron activity. However, several mechanical issues are yet to be addressed to fully utilize the device functionality of neural probes. Mechanical compliance, probe design, implantation technique, and conditions have been of great interest recently, for improving device compatibility and chronic functionality. The primary purpose of this proposed project is to develop a smart extruder system and appropriate feeding system to directly produce microfluidics-based wearable electronics and especially, chronically implantable neural probes that are: (1) superior in electrical conductivity, (2) mechanically robust in absorbing micro-motions of brain tissues and (3) suitable with stable insertion mechanisms for long-term consistent functionality.