Michel M. Maharbiz (Advisor)

Our group previously demonstrated a “neural dust” system for neural recording which includes an implantable device and external ultrasonic transducers to power and communicate with the implantable. In this work, we extend that paradigm, demonstrating an implantable that can measure and report tissue oxygenation. Oxygenation state is a key parameter when assessing the metabolic state of cells and tissues, tissue and organ viability, tumor state, among many examples in both basic science and clinical care. Various types of methods for the detection of oxygen have appeared in recent...

Glial scarring and passivization of long-term implanted neural probes is one bottleneck in brain- machine interface technology. However, ultraflexible probes with similar mechanical properties as tissue have been shown to minimize scarring and other biological responses. We propose a flexible, microscale neural probe that can be actuated using an expanding hydrogel. This device is designed to be able to record neural signals up to hundreds of microns away from the insertion site. This design can allow for high-density, accurate neural recordings for a wide variety of clinical applications...

Brain-machine interfaces provide an artificial conduit to send information to and from the brain, and modulate activity in the brain. These systems have shown great promise in clinical, scientific, and human-computer interaction contexts, but the low reward/risk ratio of today’s invasive neural interfaces has limited their use to an extremely niche clinical patient population. It has been shown that ultrasonic backscatter communication can enable the sensing and stimulation of neural activity with extremely small wireless implants, which can both improve performance and reduce risk....