New brain-interface device ‘can enhance medical treatment’

US scientists are developing a new type of brain-interface device that could transform the treatment of a number of different conditions.

Led by the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science, the research aims to address the invasiveness of current implantation processes and the large size of implanted devices.

The target will be to create a brain-interface device at the scale of one million channels to enable recording and stimulation from the sensory cortex, utilising a massive surface-recording array with more than a million electrodes, fabricated as a monolithic device on a single complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor integrated circuit.

This silicon electronics-based approach will result in the creation of chips that are light, ultra-conformable to the brain surface, and flexible enough to move with the tissue. The technology will also avoid penetrating the brain tissue, relying instead on wireless powering and data telemetry. 

Columbia engineering professor Ken Shepard said: "By using the state of the art in silicon nanoelectronics and applying it in unusual ways, we are hoping to have a big impact on brain-computer interfaces."

The technology could aid the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases or people with hearing and visual impairments.

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