Flexible Regeneration-type Nerve Electrode with Integrated Microfluidic Channels

The development of a neural interface that will allow signals from the human nervous system to control external equipment is extremely important for the next generation of prosthetic systems. A novel multichannel regeneration-type nerve electrode designed to record from and stimulate peripheral nerves has been developed to allow the control of artificial hands and to generate artificial sensations. In this study a novel flexible regeneration microelectrode based on the nerve regeneration principle was designed and fabricated using MEMS technologies. The electrode, which was fabricated on a 20-μm-thick Parylene C substrate, has multiple fluidic channels. Each fluidic channel was 100 μm wide × 40 μm high × 1500 μm long and featured multiple electrodes inside them as recording and stimulating sites. They also served as guidance channels for the regenerating axons. The authors are currently attempting to evaluate the probes using the sciatic nerve of rats.