A graphical user interface to assess the neuroinflammatory response to intracortical microelectrodes

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Intracortical microelectrodes are crucial for neuroscience research and clinical applications.
• Implantation of these devices can cause neuroinflammation, a key factor affecting their performance and longevity.
• Quantifying neuroinflammation using fluorescent immunohistochemistry is a common but often inconsistently reported metric.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a standardized, objective, and user-friendly software tool for analyzing neuroinflammation in brain-implanted device research.
• To enhance the reproducibility and efficiency of histological quantification of the tissue response to neural interfaces.

Main Methods:

• Development of a graphical user interface (GUI) software in Matlab.
• Implementation of features for batch-processing, image review, zoom, and contrast adjustment.
• Validation of the software against existing methods and assessment of user learning curves.

Main Results:

• The software provides objective and repeatable analysis of fluorescence immunohistochemistry images.
• Validation confirmed equivalent scientific conclusions compared to previously published results.
• Both novice and expert users demonstrated consistency and a rapid learning curve with the software.

Conclusions:

• The developed Matlab software offers an efficient and reproducible method for quantifying neuroinflammation around neural interfaces.
• This tool can standardize analysis across the field, promoting more reliable data on tissue response.
• The software serves as a template for histological quantification relative to a region of interest (ROI).