Phantom Brain model Replicating Multiple ECoG Signals for Preclinical Device Testing

Phantom brain models are essential for overcoming the limitations of animal experiments in developing medical devices, such as ECoG multichannel electrodes, which are crucial for diagnosing severe brain disorders and advancing brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. However, conventional phantom brains still use bulky electrodes, resulting in low spatial resolution and volume conduction effects. These limitations lead to aliasing between adjacent electrodes and signal interference, making them insufficient for accurately evaluating high-density ECoG electrodes.

Here, we present a phantom model that mimics the real cerebral cortex by replicating multiple ECoG signals simultaneously. The phantom brain model, which consists of graphene electrodes to mimic small-scale ECoG and perforated structure filled with Sodium chloride (NaCl) gel chosen for its electrical properties similar to the cerebral cortex, was designed using multiple arrays to ensure no signal interference.

This model mimicked different epileptic seizure signals originating from distinct regions of the cerebral cortex. Using multiple ECoG electrodes, it was confirmed that the ECoG signals caused by seizures in the cortex could be successfully monitored.

This demonstrated the excellent mimicry performance of the phantom brain and proved that it can also be used to test the performance of ECoG electrodes.

This approach can serve as an alternative to preclinical testing and offer great potential to examine the performance of different ECoG electrodes through a model that mimics accurately ECoG signals.