{"id":14591,"date":"2024-07-17T16:17:30","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T16:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienmag.com\/rice-neuroscientists-to-build-state-of-the-art-neural-recording-system\/"},"modified":"2024-07-17T16:17:30","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T16:17:30","slug":"rice-neuroscientists-to-build-state-of-the-art-neural-recording-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienmag.com\/rice-neuroscientists-to-build-state-of-the-art-neural-recording-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Rice neuroscientists to build state-of-the-art neural recording system"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON \u2013 (July 17, 2024) \u2013 Rice University neural engineer Chong Xie<\/a>\u00a0and his team have won a $2.9 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a state-of-the-art implantable neural electrode system that is highly biocompatible, untethered and capable of stable, long-term and large-scale neural recording and stimulation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aim to significantly advance our understanding of neural circuits by providing a tool that can seamlessly integrate with neural tissue, record at cellular and millisecond resolutions and maintain functionality over long periods,\u201d said Xie, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering and a member of the Rice Neuroengineering Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The project builds on previous work in Xie\u2019s Nanoscale Neural Interface Laboratory<\/a>\u00a0at Rice, which has pioneered the development of ultraflexible nanoelectronic thread probes (NETs). NETs can be as thin as 1 micrometer and very flexible, making them highly compatible with neural tissue. Prior research has shown that NETs produced no observable tissue damage or scarring and that they are capable of tracking populations of neurons in the brains of mice and rats over many months.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeural electrodes have been a very powerful tool in neuroscience research, and recently they have also become more useful in clinical applications,\u201d Xie said. \u201cA decade ago, neural electrodes were quite invasive. Using a combination of material and structure, we developed a device that gets along with nervous tissue very well and functions very robustly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, Xie and his team have worked on optimizing NETs and applied the devices in many different animal models, showing their potential utility in a wide range of projects, including stroke recovery, aging, regenerative medicine, vision, memory and learning as well as spinal cord research.<\/p>\n

Now the researchers aim to improve the resolution of the probe by increasing the density of the neurons sampled.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeurons are very densely packed in the brain, and that density is fairly uniform across the cortex,\u201d Xie said. \u201cInside brain tissue, if you go 20-30 micrometers in any direction, you run into a neuron. With our initial NETs, we had no more than 64 channels along a distance of a few millimeters. There are 1,000 micrometers in 1 millimeter, so we were able to interface with far fewer neurons along those depths than what we would like, which is to record or interface with every neuron along the distance, every neuron we can touch with this device.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the most significant limiting factors to improving the probe system are the fabrication resolution and the backend device that amplifies and digitizes the signals collected by NETs. To address the former, the researchers collected preliminary data on a new fabrication method: electron-beam lithography.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use electron beams to define the features we have in these devices,\u201d Xie said. \u201cThat allows us to go much higher in terms of spatial resolution. Basically, instead of writing 10 lines, we can now write over 100 lines, so that we can pack more than 10 times more channels within the same device size. That will allow us to improve the recording and simulation capacity dramatically.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to optimizing the probes, Xie and collaborators will work on integrating the NETs with implantable electronics and assess their performance over time. Addressing backend challenges, the team will develop an application-specific integrated circuit, or ASIC chip, as well as systems for wireless power transfer and data transmission, enabling fully untethered operation of the neural recording devices.<\/p>\n

Another project aim is to collect a comprehensive neural recording dataset and perform a thorough characterization, tracking the same neuron populations in order to delineate changes in neural activity occurring either due to biophysical causes or circuitry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis effort aims to enhance our understanding of chronic electrophysiology and pave the way for powerful applications of stable large-scale neural electrodes in neuroscience,\u201d Xie said.<\/p>\n

-30-<\/p>\n

This news release can be found online at news.rice.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Chong<\/p>\n

Credit: (Photo by Jeff Fitlow\/Rice University)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

HOUSTON \u2013 (July 17, 2024) \u2013 Rice University neural engineer Chong Xie<\/a>\u00a0and his team have won a $2.9 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a state-of-the-art implantable neural electrode system that is highly biocompatible, untethered and capable of stable, long-term and large-scale neural recording and stimulation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aim to significantly advance our understanding of neural circuits by providing a tool that can seamlessly integrate with neural tissue, record at cellular and millisecond resolutions and maintain functionality over long periods,\u201d said Xie, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering and a member of the Rice Neuroengineering Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The project builds on previous work in Xie\u2019s Nanoscale Neural Interface Laboratory<\/a>\u00a0at Rice, which has pioneered the development of ultraflexible nanoelectronic thread probes (NETs). NETs can be as thin as 1 micrometer and very flexible, making them highly compatible with neural tissue. Prior research has shown that NETs produced no observable tissue damage or scarring and that they are capable of tracking populations of neurons in the brains of mice and rats over many months.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeural electrodes have been a very powerful tool in neuroscience research, and recently they have also become more useful in clinical applications,\u201d Xie said. \u201cA decade ago, neural electrodes were quite invasive. Using a combination of material and structure, we developed a device that gets along with nervous tissue very well and functions very robustly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, Xie and his team have worked on optimizing NETs and applied the devices in many different animal models, showing their potential utility in a wide range of projects, including stroke recovery, aging, regenerative medicine, vision, memory and learning as well as spinal cord research.<\/p>\n

Now the researchers aim to improve the resolution of the probe by increasing the density of the neurons sampled.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeurons are very densely packed in the brain, and that density is fairly uniform across the cortex,\u201d Xie said. \u201cInside brain tissue, if you go 20-30 micrometers in any direction, you run into a neuron. With our initial NETs, we had no more than 64 channels along a distance of a few millimeters. There are 1,000 micrometers in 1 millimeter, so we were able to interface with far fewer neurons along those depths than what we would like, which is to record or interface with every neuron along the distance, every neuron we can touch with this device.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the most significant limiting factors to improving the probe system are the fabrication resolution and the backend device that amplifies and digitizes the signals collected by NETs. To address the former, the researchers collected preliminary data on a new fabrication method: electron-beam lithography.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use electron beams to define the features we have in these devices,\u201d Xie said. \u201cThat allows us to go much higher in terms of spatial resolution. Basically, instead of writing 10 lines, we can now write over 100 lines, so that we can pack more than 10 times more channels within the same device size. That will allow us to improve the recording and simulation capacity dramatically.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to optimizing the probes, Xie and collaborators will work on integrating the NETs with implantable electronics and assess their performance over time. Addressing backend challenges, the team will develop an application-specific integrated circuit, or ASIC chip, as well as systems for wireless power transfer and data transmission, enabling fully untethered operation of the neural recording devices.<\/p>\n

Another project aim is to collect a comprehensive neural recording dataset and perform a thorough characterization, tracking the same neuron populations in order to delineate changes in neural activity occurring either due to biophysical causes or circuitry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis effort aims to enhance our understanding of chronic electrophysiology and pave the way for powerful applications of stable large-scale neural electrodes in neuroscience,\u201d Xie said.<\/p>\n

-30-<\/p>\n

This news release can be found online at news.rice.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Award information:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Title: \u201cA Nanoelectronic Strategy for Reliable, Large-scale Chronic Neural Recording\u201d<\/p>\n

Award number: 2R01NS102917-06<\/p>\n

Link: <\/a><\/p>\n

Image downloads:<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\nCAPTION: Rice University neuroscientist Chong Xie leads a team that has won a $2.9 million grant from the NIH to develop a state-of-the-art implantable neural electrode system. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow\/Rice University)<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\nCAPTION: NETs can be as thin as 1 micrometer and very flexible, making them highly compatible with neural tissue. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow\/Rice University)<\/p>\n

Related stories: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Tiny, flexible spinal probe system could lead to better therapies:
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Flexible nanoelectrodes can provide fine-grained brain stimulation:
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Engineers explore the source of dreams and thoughts:
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Gentle probes could enable massive brain data collection:
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Blood flow recovers faster than brain in micro strokes:
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About Rice: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation\u2019s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of architecture, business, continuing studies, engineering, humanities, music, natural sciences and social sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 4,574 undergraduates and 3,982 graduate students, Rice\u2019s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race\/class interaction, No. 2 for best-run colleges and No. 12 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger\u2019s Personal Finance.<\/em><\/p>\n

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