An artefact-resilient wide bandwidth bidirectional graphene neural interface

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Bidirectional neural interfaces are crucial for adaptive neuromodulation therapies.
• Graphene transistor technologies offer promising neural recording capabilities at low frequencies.
• Existing technologies have limitations in charge injection capacity for stimulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel bidirectional neural interface integrating graphene-based technologies for simultaneous neural recording and stimulation.
• To leverage complementary functionalities of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and graphene solution-gated field-effect transistors (gSGFETs) in a single flexible probe.
• To evaluate the performance of the hybrid device, particularly transistor function during stimulation.

Main Methods:

• Monolithic integration of nanoporous rGO microelectrodes and gSGFETs using scalable microfabrication.
• Fabrication of fully flexible neural probes.
• In vitro (saline) and in vivo performance evaluation, focusing on transistor response during stimulation.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a hybrid device combining focal stimulation and brain activity monitoring.
• Confirmed that the recording capability, including infraslow and local field potential activity, is maintained during stimulation.
• Showcased the successful integration of complementary graphene-based technologies on a flexible platform.

Conclusions:

• The developed bidirectional neural interface successfully integrates stimulation and recording functionalities without performance compromise.
• This technology opens new avenues for adaptive neuromodulation therapies, particularly those based on infraslow activity.
• The flexible, hybrid graphene-based probes offer a promising platform for future neural interface development.