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Updated: Nov 9, 2025
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Intact Histological Characterization of Brain-implanted Microdevices and Surrounding Tissue
Published on: February 11, 2013
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A simple method for implanting free-floating microdevices into the nervous tissue
Adam Khalifa1, Adebayo Eisape2, Brian Coughlin1
1Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, United States of America.
Journal of Neural Engineering
|April 7, 2021
Summary
A new injection tool enables rapid, precise placement of minuscule neural interfaces for brain mapping and modulation. This minimally-invasive method accelerates the development of next-generation neural electrodes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical Engineering
- Medical Devices
Background:
- Free-floating implantable neural interfaces offer advanced capabilities for monitoring and controlling neural activity.
- Current challenges include the efficient, precise, and minimally-invasive delivery of these minuscule devices into nervous tissue.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a novel injection tool and controlled approach for delivering neural interfaces.
- To evaluate the precision and tissue impact of the injection method.
Main Methods:
- Development of a novel needle-injectable tool for microdevice delivery.
- Controlled injection experiments in agarose, rat brain, and sciatic nerve.
- Validation using tissue clearing, MRI imaging, and immunohistology.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated spatial precision and rotational alignment of injected microdevices.
- Assessed tissue damage using immunohistology, showing minimal impact.
- Successfully injected devices into various biological tissues, including the brain.
Conclusions:
- The proposed injection method is simple, fast, minimally-invasive, and cost-effective.
- This technique can accommodate various microdevice sizes and shapes.
- The method accelerates the validation of next-generation neural electrodes in preclinical models.
