Conformable thin-film cuff electrodes as tools for peripheral nerve recording: a comparative study

Peripheral nerve recordings are a powerful research technique commonly performed using commercially available elastomeric cuff electrodes. However, emerging conformable thin-film technologies which offer advantages in device flexibility, feature miniaturisation, and electrode layout may represent an important alternative tool. In this study, we compare these two device classes as acute recording tools by implanting them side-by-side on rat sciatic nerves under anaesthesia and recording activity evoked by nociceptive muscle stimulation or proprioceptive ankle extension. We find that conventional elastomeric cuffs and conformable thin-film cuffs exhibit no statistically significant signal-to-noise ratio differences under this experimental regime, either under monopolar or referenced recording paradigms. When performing signal velocity analysis, conformable thin-film cuffs show a tendency to toward more frequently classifying recorded sensory activity as afferent, compared to conventional cuffs. Our findings support that conformable thin-film cuffs are competitive research tools for acute peripheral nerve recording.