High-density soft bioelectronic fibres for multimodal sensing and stimulation.

Area of Science:

• Bioelectronic engineering
• Materials science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Existing bioelectronic fibers lack flexibility, precise component placement, and high functionality.
• Conventional microfabrication methods are incompatible with soft, one-dimensional fiber structures.
• These limitations restrict the development and application of bioelectronic fibers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a new method for fabricating high-density, multimodal soft bioelectronic fibers.
• To overcome the limitations of existing fiber technologies for research and clinical use.
• To demonstrate the capabilities of the new fibers in biological systems.

Main Methods:

• Introduced 'spiral transformation' to convert 2D thin films with microdevices into 1D soft fibers.
• Fabricated Spiral-NeuroString (S-NeuroString) with precise control over component positioning.
• Utilized biocompatible soft fibers for gastrointestinal and neural applications.

Main Results:

• Achieved high-density integration of multimodal sensing and stimulation components.
• Demonstrated S-NeuroString for continuous motility mapping and tissue stimulation in pigs.
• Successfully performed multi-channel neural recordings in mice for up to 4 months.
• Fabricated a 1,280-channel soft fiber with a 230-μm diameter.

Conclusions:

• Spiral transformation enables the creation of advanced soft bioelectronic fibers.
• S-NeuroString offers a versatile platform for minimally invasive implantable electronics.
• This technology holds significant potential for diverse sensing and stimulation applications.