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A Wireless, Bidirectional Interface for In Vivo Recording and Stimulation of Neural Activity in Freely Behaving Rats
Published on: November 7, 2017
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An Inductively-Powered Wireless Neural Recording System with a Charge Sampling Analog Front-End
Seung Bae Lee1, Byunghun Lee1, Mehdi Kiani1
1GT-Bionics lab, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA.
IEEE Sensors Journal
|April 13, 2016
Summary
This study introduces the WINeR-7, a wireless, battery-less neural recording system for freely behaving animals. It enables continuous local field potential recording within a standard homecage using inductive power.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Neuroscience Instrumentation
- Implantable Devices
Background:
- Traditional neural recording systems often require tethers or batteries, limiting animal behavior and experimental duration.
- Wireless power transfer and miniaturized electronics are crucial for unobtrusive, long-term neural monitoring in freely moving subjects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and demonstrate an inductively powered, wireless, and battery-less neural recording system (WINeR-7) for continuous local field potential (LFP) acquisition.
- To enable neural recordings from freely behaving animal subjects within a standard homecage environment without behavioral constraints.
Main Methods:
- Designed a novel wide-swing dual slope charge sampling (DSCS) analog front-end (AFE) for amplification, filtering, and analog-to-time conversion.
- Implemented a circular shift register (CSR) for time division multiplexing (TDM) of pulse width modulated (PWM) signals and integrated a 915 MHz transmitter (Tx).
- Utilized a power management block with an active rectifier and automatic resonance tuning (ART) for wireless power reception at 13.56 MHz, fabricated on a 0.35-μm CMOS process.
Main Results:
- The 8-channel system-on-a-chip (SoC) occupied 5.0 × 2.5 mm² and consumed 51.4 mW, with each channel consuming 19.3 μW at a 21.48 kHz sampling rate.
- Successfully performed continuous in vivo LFP recordings from freely behaving rats in an energized homecage, demonstrating closed-loop operation.
- Achieved wireless power delivery of 51.4 mW to the WINeR-7 system for uninterrupted neural data acquisition.
Conclusions:
- The WINeR-7 system offers a viable solution for wireless, battery-less neural recording, significantly enhancing the freedom of animal subjects.
- This technology facilitates long-term, unobtrusive monitoring of neural activity in naturalistic settings, advancing neuroscience research.
- The demonstrated inductive power transfer and efficient system design pave the way for next-generation implantable neural interfaces.
