Distributed Wireless Neural Recording System for Multi-Region Brain Activity Monitoring

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Electrical Engineering

Background:

• Scalable and robust neural interfaces are crucial for multi-region brain recordings.
• Existing architectures face challenges in wiring complexity, resource reuse, and transmission stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a distributed wireless neural recording system addressing limitations of conventional architectures.
• To enable stable and scalable acquisition of neural signals from multiple brain regions.

Main Methods:

• A parallel-link architecture with a custom 12-channel neural recording Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).
• The ASIC integrates modular digital pixels, on-chip oscillator, Manchester encoding, and Low-Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS) output.
• Fabrication in 0.18 μm CMOS, with a compact recording module and FPGA-based central hub.

Main Results:

• The ASIC consumes 10.13 mW total, with 48.5 μW/channel for recording channels.
• Achieved 5.6 μVrms input-referred noise and 28.93 kSps per-channel sampling rate.
• In vivo mouse experiments demonstrated clear 12-channel action-potential recordings.

Conclusions:

• The developed system offers a feasible solution for stable and scalable multi-region neural signal acquisition.
• The parallel-link architecture and custom ASIC effectively reduce interconnect count and maintain reliable transmission.