Grant: Idea to Innovation

We have developed a new biomedical device (a flexible base electrode array) that can be implanted in the body, and used to communicate electrically with cells. Technologies such as ours, which interface with the nervous system, have great potential to improve the lives of people following disease or injury. Our device consists of an array of electrodes that can extend millimeters into the tissue, connected together by a flexible base. Each electrode in the array communicates with a different group of cells. We have shown that the flexible base allows our device to deform with the tissue that surrounds it when the tissue itself is strained. We expect this array to have better tissue compatibility than current commercial electrode arrays due to its flexibility. We have applied for a US non-provisional patent based on this technology, and we have published a paper describing the mechanical properties of our device. The purpose of this project is to advance our flexible base electrode array from the lab to a commercial product. To do so, we must address a number of key points raised in the market assessment that we recently performed. Respondents to the survey indicated that stability, reliability, and tissue compatibility were important characteristics that must be demonstrated before they would use our devices. To demonstrate these features, we will conduct a number of tests in the lab. For example, we will monitor the mechanical and electrical properties (and mechanical integrity) of the devices over cycles of deformation. We will also perform some in vivo tests to determine how tissue responds to the devices. The market assessment also identified some particularly likely application areas in which our flexible base electrode arrays could have an impact; we will adapt our design for those applications and conduct some functional studies demonstrating the utility of the devices.