A Fully Integrated Wireless Compressed Sensing Neural Signal Acquisition System for Chronic Recording and Brain...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Reliable, multi-channel neural recording is crucial for neuroscience research and clinical applications.
• Current wireless neural recorder hardware is largely in the proof-of-concept stage, requiring careful consideration of performance, power, size, and compatibility.
• There is a need for practical, integrated wireless neural recording systems suitable for long-term use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an optimized wireless compressed sensing neural signal recording system.
• To integrate custom integrated circuits with universal wireless solutions for enhanced functionality.
• To address the trade-offs between performance, power consumption, device size, robustness, and compatibility in neural recording hardware.

Main Methods:

• Development of an implantable wireless system-on-chip (SoC) integrating 16-channel amplifiers, filters, an ADC, a compressed sensing module, and wireless power/data transmission.
• Design of an external wireless relay with a microcontroller, Bluetooth 4.0, a programming interface, and inductive charging.
• Fabrication of the SoC using 180 nm CMOS technology (2.1 mm × 0.6 mm area).

Main Results:

• The developed system achieves high signal recording quality with minimized power consumption.
• The compressed sensing module offers configurability with a 9.78 dB SNDR and an 8x compression ratio.
• Successful long-term wireless neural recording was demonstrated in a freely behaving rhesus monkey.

Conclusions:

• The optimized wireless compressed sensing neural recording system offers a practical solution for neuroscience research.
• The system design balances performance and power efficiency while enhancing compatibility and reducing infection risk.
• This technology enables advanced, long-term neural monitoring in freely behaving subjects.