Histological evaluation of chronically implanted tissue-engineered-electronic-neural-interface (TEENI) devices

Neural-interface devices have the potential to isolate and transduce both afferent (sensory) and efferent (motor) neural signals of the peripheral nerve to and from electrical signals in instrumentation for stimulation and recording to produce fine control of advanced prosthetics. In order to potentiate the full spectrum of possible applications, the persistent foreign-body response needs to be addressed. Here we describe the cellular and extracellular components of chronically implanted polyimide threads suspended within a tricomponent hydrogel. The results of these experiments will contribute to design modifications for future fabrications of tissue-engineered-electronic-nerve-interface (TEENI) devices.