Development of neural electrode to be inserted into the brain with only local anesthesia

- technology to make crack-free, stable electrode on elastomeric PDMS
     - Prof. Kim So-hee’s research team has a paper published by IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering

 

 

 

A group of Korean researchers successfully developed new nerve electrode, making it possible to insert electrode through a tiny hole of several millimeters wide for cerebral nerve disorder treatment without craniectomy. With this new technology, nerve electrodes may be inserted into the brain with only local anesthesia, rather than general anesthesia.

 

The research was conducted jointly by Prof. Kim So Hee of the School of Medical System Engineering and the School of Mechatronics (correspondent author) and Mr. Choo Nam Sun enrolled in the doctoral program (leading author) of the School of Mechatronics at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST, President ž Young Joon Kim), and was published as a featured article by IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering which is an international academic journal.

 

The research was sponsored by the Senior Research Support Project (core research) and the Public Welfare and Safety Research Project jointly led by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (Minister ž Choi Moon-Kee) and Korea Research Foundation (Chairman ž Lee Seung Jong). Its research paper was published by IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering on July 2nd, 2013 (paper title: A Largely Deformable Surface Type Neural Electrode Array Based on PDMS).

 

 

In the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of cerebral nerve disorder such as epilepsy and stroke, it is necessary to insert electrodes into brain cortex surface under the cranial bones. Sometimes, craniectomy is carried out, which requires general anesthesia usually associated with high risks. As an alternative, the researchers developed a technology to create crack-free, stable electrode on PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane).

 

The nerve electrodes which can be inserted through a tiny incision on cerebral bones is expected to take on the global market of electronic medical equipment related to cerebral nerve, which is forecast to post steady growth in the era of population aging. In addition, it may also be applied to various MEMS-based flexible elements and devices based on PDMS, as well as for neural electrode.