A multi-scale composite electrode for neural recording and stimulation with topological structure

Abstract

The application provides a multi-scale composite electrode with a topological structure for nerve recording and stimulation, comprising: an electrode sheath; three large-scale local field potential contacts distributed along an axial direction on the electrode sheath; a multi-scale electrode contact unit arranged in the middle large-scale local field potential contact, comprising a local field potential contact and a microelectrode contact for recording a single cell action potential, and the local field potential contact and the microelectrode contact form a honeycomb topological structure; and a lead wire arranged in the electrode sheath and connected with the three large-scale local field potential contacts and the multi-scale electrode contact unit. The application can realize multi-level nerve signal monitoring and stimulation in the same space, and can realize monitoring and stimulation of different numbers of nerve clusters from a single neuron to five different spatial scales of several microns, tens of microns, hundreds of microns and one thousand microns, which has important value and significance for decoding, identification and regulation of various nervous system diseases such as neuropathic pain.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application belongs to the technical field of brain-computer fusion, and particularly relates to a neural recording and stimulation multi-scale composite electrode with a topological structure. BACKGROUND

[0002] About 100 billion neurons in the human brain transmit information through complex action potentials, and these electrical activities are involved in the generation of brain functions such as perception, motion encoding and high-level cognition. The brain-computer fusion technology that realizes the deep fusion of the human brain and the computer through continuous high-flux information interaction can greatly improve the treatment effect of patients with various diseases such as motor disability, mental illness, and perceptual deficiency. Among them, the implantable neural electrode array is an indispensable key device for developing brain-computer fusion technology.

[0003] On the one hand, the implantable electrode array can record neural electrical signals in a wide range and high precision, laying a solid foundation for neural information decoding. On the other hand, the implantable electrode array can stimulate the neural nucleus for information writing, which not only can directly transmit new information to the brain, but also can change the abnormal neural activity of patients with neurological and mental diseases (such as Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and neuropathic pain, etc.), so as to achieve the purpose of relieving symptoms or treating diseases.

[0004] Common invasive neural electrical signals include low-frequency local field potentials recorded extracellularly and high-frequency action potentials. Brain information processing and response to input need to involve the joint action of many nerve cells. To decode the working mechanism of the brain in the disease state, it is necessary to detect the changes of neural signals of different scales at the same time, and to write information to the brain from different scales, and then to accurately regulate the nervous system diseases. With the development of implantable electrode arrays, long-term stable transmission of signals has been realized in technology. However, in the face of the demand for fine decoding and accurate regulation of disease state brain electricity, there is a lack of implantable devices that can collect multi-scale brain electrical signals and multi-scale information input. SUMMARY

[0005] The application is carried out to solve the above problems, and aims to provide a neural recording and stimulation multi-scale composite electrode with a topological structure.

[0006] The application provides a neural recording and stimulation multi-scale composite electrode with a topological structure, which has the following characteristics: an electrode sheath, one end of which is an implantation end and the other end is an interface end; three large-scale local field potential contacts arranged in an axial direction on the electrode sheath; a multi-scale electrode contact unit arranged in the middle large-scale local field potential contact, which comprises a local field potential contact for recording a local field potential and a microelectrode contact for recording a single cell action potential, and the local field potential contact and the microelectrode contact form a honeycomb topological structure; and a lead wire arranged in the electrode sheath and connected with the three large-scale local field potential contacts and the multi-scale electrode contact unit.

[0007] In the neural recording and stimulation multi-scale composite electrode with a topological structure provided by the application, the three large-scale local field potential contacts can be arranged close to the implantation end on the electrode sheath.

[0008] Further, the outer diameter of each large-scale local field potential contact is 275-485 microns, the inner diameter is 265-475 microns, and the distance between two adjacent large-scale local field potential contacts is 10-50 microns.

[0009] In the neural recording and stimulation multi-scale composite electrode with a topological structure provided by the application, the local field potential contact can comprise a middle-scale local field potential contact and a small-scale local field potential contact, the middle-scale local field potential contact is nested in the middle large-scale local field potential contact, a plurality of small-scale local field potential contacts are nested in the middle-scale local field potential contact, and a plurality of microelectrode contacts are nested in each small-scale local field potential contact.

[0010] Further, the outer diameter of the middle-scale local field potential contact is 255-435 microns, the inner diameter is 245-425 microns, the distance between the middle-scale local field potential contact and the large-scale local field potential contact is 5-20 microns, the outer diameter of each small-scale local field potential contact is 75-135 microns, the inner diameter is 65-125 microns, the distance between two adjacent small-scale local field potential contacts is 5 microns, the outer diameter of each microelectrode contact is 15-35 microns, the inner diameter is 5-25 microns, and the distance between two adjacent microelectrode contacts is 5 microns.

[0011] Further, the number of small-scale local field potential contacts is 7, and the 6 small-scale local field potential contacts are arranged in a honeycomb structure around the 1 small-scale local field potential contact as the center, and each small-scale local field potential contact is nested with 7 microelectrode contacts, and the 6 microelectrode contacts are arranged in a honeycomb structure around the 1 microelectrode contact as the center. The spacing between the medium-scale local field potential contact and the adjacent small-scale local field potential contact is 5 microns.

[0012] In the multi-scale composite electrode for neural recording and stimulation with a topological structure provided by the application, the number of wires can be three, one end of each of the three wires is connected to the three large-scale local field potential contacts, and the end of the wire connected to the middle large-scale local field potential contact is also connected to the multi-scale electrode contact unit, and the other end of the three wires extends to the interface end of the electrode sheath and constitutes an external connector port together with the interface end.

[0013] Further, the external connector port is used to connect an electrophysiological recording instrument capable of synchronously recording and stimulating local field potentials and single cell action potentials.

[0014] In the multi-scale composite electrode for neural recording and stimulation with a topological structure provided by the application, the length of the electrode sheath can be adjusted, which is used to implant into brain nuclei of different depths.

[0015] Effects of the application

[0016] The microelectrode has the advantages of high current density, fast response speed, small ohmic voltage drop and high signal-to-noise ratio, and thus is selected to record action potentials, and a multi-site high-density monitoring small-volume neuron group activity is realized through the honeycomb-shaped topological structure microelectrode array, so that a higher spatial resolution can be obtained. The larger scale electrode contact can obtain the average effect of the postsynaptic potential in a small range near the electrode tip, and the designed back is used to record the field potential signal with a wider frequency domain information, which represents the information of the cooperative work of multiple neurons in the region. The phase characteristics of LFP are important measures to express external stimulation information, and the lock correlation between Spike and LFP rhythm reflects important neural coding characteristics. Through the research of phase-locked loop, the characteristics and integration mechanism of external information transmission in the central nervous system can be further explored. Through stimulation, information input is carried out on specific neurons, and the response of other neurons in the neural network is observed, which is an important problem concerned by neural regulation and brain-computer interface. The topological structure composite electrode can realize multi-level neural signal monitoring and stimulation in the same space, and can realize monitoring and stimulation from single neuron to different number of neural clusters across five different spatial scales of several microns, tens of microns, hundreds of microns and one thousand microns, which has important value and significance for decoding, identification and regulation of various nervous system diseases such as neuropathic pain. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 is a structure schematic diagram of a neural recording and stimulation multi-scale composite electrode with a topological structure in the embodiment of the present application.

[0018] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a large-scale local field potential contact located in the middle and a multi-scale electrode contact unit in the embodiment of the present application.

[0019] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:

[0020] 10 electrode sheath; 11 implant end; 12 interface end; 20 large-scale local field potential contact; 30 multi-scale electrode contact unit; 31 medium-scale local field potential contact; 32 small-scale local field potential contact; 33 microelectrode contact; 40 lead wire. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] In order to make the technical means, creative characteristics, purposes and effects realized by the present application easy to understand, the following embodiments will be specifically described in combination with the drawings.

[0022] EMBODIMENT

[0023] Figure 1 is a structure schematic diagram of a neural recording and stimulation multi-scale composite electrode with a topological structure.

[0024] As Figure 1 shown, the embodiment provides a neural recording and stimulation multi-scale composite electrode with a topological structure, including an electrode sheath 10, three large-scale local field potential contacts 20, a multi-scale electrode contact unit 30, and three wires 40.

[0025] One end of the electrode sheath 10 is an implantation end 11, which is sharp, and the other end is an interface end 12. The length of the electrode sheath 10 can be adjusted according to the depth of the brain nucleus to be implanted to adapt to different implantation targets of different diseases.

[0026] The three large-scale local field potential contacts 20 are arranged near the implantation end 11 on the electrode sheath 10 and are distributed equidistantly along the axial direction of the electrode sheath 10. The large-scale local field potential contact 20 is the largest scale field potential recording contact in the multi-scale composite electrode, the outer diameter of each large-scale local field potential contact 20 is 275-485 microns, the inner diameter is 265-475 microns, and the distance between adjacent two large-scale local field potential contacts 20 is 10-50 microns. In the embodiment, the outer diameter of each large-scale local field potential contact 20 is 390 microns, the inner diameter is 380 microns, and the distance between adjacent two large-scale local field potential contacts 20 is 50 microns.

[0027] Figure 2 is a schematic view of the middle large-scale local field potential contact 20 and the internal multi-scale electrode contact unit 30.

[0028] As Figure 2 shown, the multi-scale electrode contact unit 30 is nested in the middle large-scale local field potential contact 20, the multi-scale electrode contact unit 30 has a honeycomb topological structure, including a middle-scale local field potential contact 31 and a small-scale local field potential contact 32 for recording local field potential and a microelectrode contact 33 for recording single cell action potential.

[0029] Specifically, the number of middle-scale local field potential contacts 31 is 1, which is nested in the large-scale local field potential contact 20. The outer diameter of the middle-scale local field potential contact 31 is 255-435 microns, and the inner diameter is 245-425 microns. The distance between the middle-scale local field potential and the large-scale local field potential contact 20 where it is located is 5-20 microns. In the embodiment, the outer diameter of the middle-scale local field potential contact 31 is 350 microns, the inner diameter is 290 microns, and the distance between the middle-scale local field potential and the large-scale local field potential contact 20 where it is located is 20 microns.

[0030] The number of small-scale local field potential contacts 32 is 7, which are all nested in the mesoscale local field potential contact 31. The outer diameter of each small-scale local field potential contact 32 is 75-135 microns, and the inner diameter is 65-125 microns. The distance between two adjacent small-scale local field potential contacts 32 is 5 microns, and the distance between the mesoscale local field potential contact 31 and the immediately adjacent small-scale local field potential contact 32 is also 5 microns. In this embodiment, the outer diameter of each small-scale local field potential contact 32 is 90 microns, and the inner diameter is 80 microns.

[0031] The number of microelectrode contacts 33 is 49, and each 7 is nested in a small-scale local field potential contact 32. The outer diameter of each microelectrode contact 33 is 15-35 microns, and the inner diameter is 5-25 microns. The distance between two adjacent microelectrode contacts 33 is 5 microns. In this embodiment, the outer diameter of each microelectrode contact 33 is 20 microns, and the inner diameter is 10 microns.

[0032] Each local field potential contact and each microelectrode contact 33 is completely independent and does not affect each other.

[0033] As shown in Figure 1 Three wires 40 are arranged in the cavity of the electrode sheath 10 in the axial direction, one end of the three wires 40 is connected with the three large-scale local field potential contacts 20 respectively, and the end of the wire 40 connected with the middle large-scale local field potential contact 20 is also connected with the multiscale electrode contact unit 30. The other end of the three wires 40 extends to the interface end 12 of the electrode sheath 10 and constitutes an external connector with the interface end 12 of the electrode sheath 10. The external connector can be connected with an electrophysiological recorder capable of synchronously recording and stimulating local field potentials and single cell action potentials. Thus, the multiscale composite electrode combined with the electrophysiological recorder can realize recording, stimulation, or synchronous recording and stimulation of multi-level neural signals in the same space.

[0034] In specific implementation, the multiscale composite electrode is first implanted into the target point of the brain through the method of stereotactic craniopuncture, then the multiscale composite electrode is fixed on the skull by using screws and dental cement to prevent falling off, and then the multiscale composite electrode is connected with the electrophysiological recorder through the external connector, so that the continuous recording of brain information can be realized, and thus the multiscale composite electrode can realize recording, stimulation, or synchronous recording and stimulation of multi-level neural signals in the same space.

[0035] Effects of the embodiment

[0036] According to the neural recording and stimulation multi-scale composite electrode with the topological structure, the microelectrode has the advantages of high current density, fast response speed, small ohmic voltage drop and high signal-to-noise ratio, and thus the microelectrode is selected to record the action potential, the multi-site high-density monitoring of the small volume neuron group activity is realized through the honeycomb topological structure microelectrode array, and higher spatial resolution can be obtained. The larger scale electrode contact can obtain the average effect of the postsynaptic potential in a small range near the electrode tip, and the designed electrode is used to record the field potential signal with more extensive frequency domain information, which represents the information of the cooperative work of multiple neurons in the region. The phase characteristics of LFP are important measures to express the external stimulation information, and the lock correlation between the Spike and the LFP rhythm reflects important neural coding characteristics, and through the research of the phase-locked loop, the transmission characteristics and integration mechanism of the external information in the central nervous system can be further explored. Through the stimulation of the information input of the specific neurons, the response of other neurons in the neural network is observed, which is also an important problem concerned by the neural regulation and brain-computer interface. The topological structure composite electrode can realize the multi-level neural signal monitoring and stimulation in the same space, and can realize the monitoring and stimulation of single neuron to different number of neural clusters across the spatial scale of five different spatial scales of several microns, tens of microns, hundreds of microns and one thousand microns, which has important value and significance for decoding, identification and regulation of various nervous system diseases such as neuropathic pain.

[0037] The above embodiments are preferred cases of the present application and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A multi-scale composite electrode for neural recording and stimulation with a topology, characterized in that, It comprises: an electrode sheath, one end of which is an implant end and the other end is an interface end; three large-scale local field potential contacts arranged in an axial distribution near the implant end on the electrode sheath, the outer diameter of each large-scale local field potential contact is 275-485 microns, the inner diameter is 265-475 microns, and the distance between adjacent two large-scale local field potential contacts is 10-50 microns; a multi-scale electrode contact unit arranged in the large-scale local field potential contact in the middle, which comprises local field potential contacts for recording local field potentials and microelectrode contacts for recording single cell action potentials, the local field potential contacts and the microelectrode contacts form a honeycomb topology, the local field potential contacts include mesoscale local field potential contacts and small-scale local field potential contacts, the mesoscale local field potential contacts are nested in the large-scale local field potential contact in the middle, and multiple small-scale local field potential contacts are nested in the mesoscale local field potential contacts, and multiple microelectrode contacts are nested in each small-scale local field potential contact, the outer diameter of the mesoscale local field potential contact is 255-435 microns, the inner diameter is 245-425 microns, the distance between the mesoscale local field potential contact and the large-scale local field potential contact is 5-20 microns, the outer diameter of each small-scale local field potential contact is 75-135 microns, the inner diameter is 65-125 microns, the distance between adjacent two small-scale local field potential contacts is 5 microns, the outer diameter of each microelectrode contact is 15-35 microns, the inner diameter is 5-25 microns, and the distance between adjacent two microelectrode contacts is 5 microns, the number of small-scale local field potential contacts is 7, and a honeycomb structure is arranged with 1 small-scale local field potential contact as the center and 6 small-scale local field potential contacts evenly distributed around the circumference, and 7 microelectrode contacts are nested in each small-scale local field potential contact, and a honeycomb structure is also arranged with 1 microelectrode contact as the center and 6 microelectrode contacts evenly distributed around the circumference, and the distance between the mesoscale local field potential contact and the adjacent small-scale local field potential contact is 5 microns; and a wire arranged in the electrode sheath and connected with three large-scale local field potential contacts and the multi-scale electrode contact unit, the number of wires is three, one end of each wire is connected with one large-scale local field potential contact, and the wire connected with the middle large-scale local field potential contact is also connected with the multi-scale electrode contact unit at one end, the other end of the wire extends to the interface end of the electrode sheath and forms an external connector with the interface end, and the external connector is used to connect an electrophysiological recorder capable of synchronously recording and stimulating local field potentials and single cell action potentials.

2. The neural recording and stimulating multi-scale composite electrode with a topology structure according to claim 1, wherein wherein The length of the electrode sheath is adjustable for implanting into different depth of brain nuclei.

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