Implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition

Abstract

The present specification provides an implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition. The implantable sensor at least comprises an ultrasonic transducer and a neural signal processing chip, wherein the neural signal processing chip at least comprises a neural signal processing circuit; the neural signal processing circuit at least comprises a peak classification unit; the neural signal processing circuit is further connected with an electrode used for collecting electric signals in the target neural area. Based on the implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition, the working energy consumption during neural signal acquisition in the target object can be effectively reduced, so that the equipment size of the implantable sensor can be reduced, and the implantable sensor can be more conveniently and flexibly arranged in the target object; meanwhile, the battery module in the conventional implantable sensor can be effectively prevented from harming the health of the implanted target object, and the implantable sensor has relatively high safety.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This specification belongs to the technical field of neural signal acquisition devices, and particularly relates to an implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition. Background Art

[0002] Based on the existing implantable sensors for collecting neural signals, the working energy consumption during operation is mostly relatively large, resulting in the need to separately arrange an independent power module inside the implantable sensor. This will inevitably make the device size of the implantable sensor relatively large, and thus it cannot be flexibly and conveniently arranged inside the implanted object. Moreover, most of the above-mentioned power modules themselves also contain material substances such as heavy metals that can harm the health of the implanted object. Therefore, when arranging and using the implantable sensor inside the implanted object, it is likely to harm the health of the implanted object, resulting in problems such as incompatibility between the implanted object and the organism.

[0003] In view of the above technical problems, no effective solution has been proposed yet. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This specification provides an implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition, which can effectively reduce the working energy consumption when collecting neural signals inside the target object, thereby reducing the device size of the implantable sensor and enabling the implantable sensor to be more conveniently and flexibly arranged inside the target object. At the same time, it can also effectively avoid harming the health of the target object implanted with the implantable sensor, and has high safety.

[0005] This specification provides an implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition. The implantable sensor is arranged inside the target object and at least includes: an ultrasonic transducer and a neural signal processing chip. Among them, the neural signal processing chip at least includes a neural signal processing circuit. The neural signal processing circuit at least includes a spike sorting unit. The neural signal processing circuit is also connected to an electrode. The electrode is used to collect the electrical signals in the target neural region of the target object.

[0006] The ultrasonic transducer is used to receive ultrasonic signals and convert the received ultrasonic signals into electrical energy for the operation of the implantable sensor to trigger the implantable sensor to enter the first mode state. Among them, the neural signal processing circuit is in a standby state in the first mode state.

[0007] In the first mode state, the implantable sensor determines whether the acquired electrical signal is a nerve pulse signal by performing spike detection on the electrical signal acquired by the electrode; and when it is determined that the acquired electrical signal is a nerve pulse signal, it triggers to enter the second mode state; wherein, the nerve signal processing circuit is in an operating state in the second mode state;

[0008] In the second mode state, the nerve signal processing circuit is used to perform preset signal data processing on the acquired nerve pulse signal to obtain multiple pieces of nerve signal information that meet the requirements; wherein, the multiple pieces of nerve signal information respectively correspond to multiple types of nerve signals; the ultrasonic transducer is also used to externally transmit an echo signal carrying the multiple pieces of nerve signal information.

[0009] In one embodiment, the nerve signal processing circuit further includes: a filter amplifier, a clock generation circuit, and an analog-to-digital converter;

[0010] Wherein, the filter amplifier is respectively connected to the electrode and the analog-to-digital converter; the analog-to-digital converter is also connected to the spike classification unit.

[0011] In one embodiment, the nerve signal processing circuit is used to perform preset signal data processing on the acquired nerve pulse signal to obtain multiple pieces of nerve signal information that meet the requirements, including:

[0012] Using the filter amplifier to perform filtering and amplification processing on the nerve pulse signal to obtain a processed nerve signal;

[0013] Using the analog-to-digital converter to convert the processed nerve signal into a corresponding digital signal;

[0014] Using the spike classification unit to perform spike classification processing on the digital signal according to a preset spike classification algorithm to obtain a corresponding spike classification result;

[0015] According to the spike classification result, separating the time information of action potentials generated by different neurons within the target time period as multiple pieces of nerve signal information that meet the requirements.

[0016] In one embodiment, a diode is also arranged on the nerve signal processing chip; wherein, the diode is used to perform overvoltage protection on the nerve signal processing chip.

[0017] In one embodiment, the nerve signal processing chip further includes a spike detector; wherein, the spike detector is respectively connected to the electrode, the spike classification unit, the clock generation circuit, and the analog-to-digital converter.

[0018] In one embodiment, by performing spike detection on the electrical signals collected by the electrodes to determine whether the collected electrical signals are nerve pulse signals, it includes:

[0019] Use a spike detector to detect the electrical signals collected by the electrodes to obtain corresponding spike detection results;

[0020] According to the spike detection results, determine whether the collected electrical signals are nerve pulse signals.

[0021] In one embodiment, the implantable sensor further includes an adjustment switch; wherein, the adjustment switch is connected in parallel with the ultrasonic transducer;

[0022] Correspondingly, the implantable sensor controls the closing time of the adjustment switch according to different types of nerve signals, and adds multiple nerve signal information to the echo signal based on different pulse width information.

[0023] In one embodiment, the implantable sensor includes a plurality of adjustment circuits; wherein, the adjustment circuits are connected in parallel with the ultrasonic transducer; the adjustment circuits include an adjustment switch or a combination of an adjustment switch and a resistor;

[0024] Correspondingly, the implantable sensor controls and adjusts the impedance matching between the ultrasonic transducer and the load circuit through the adjustment circuits according to different types of nerve signals, and adds multiple nerve signal information to the echo signal.

[0025] In one embodiment, the nerve signal processing chip further includes a stimulation functional circuit; the stimulation functional circuit is connected in parallel with the nerve signal processing circuit; the stimulation functional circuit is connected to the target nerve area;

[0026] The stimulation functional circuit is used to apply a stimulation signal in the target nerve area.

[0027] In one embodiment, the filter amplifier is set to operate in the subthreshold region.

[0028] Based on the implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition provided in this specification, at least structures such as a spike sorting unit can be arranged in the neural signal processing circuit included in the neural signal processing chip. The implanted sensor can first convert the acquired neural signal from an analog signal to a digital signal through the neural signal processing circuit with the above structure; then, based on the spike sorting algorithm, the spike sorting unit can obtain the generation times of action potentials corresponding to different neurons as multiple neural signal information; and then modulate the above multiple neural signal information into an echo signal for transmission. In this way, only the time information during different types of neuron neural activities in the form of digital signals needs to be transmitted, without the need to transmit the complete spectrum of the original acquired neural signals, thus being able to greatly reduce the overall working energy consumption of the implantable sensor; at the same time, it can also effectively reduce the error interference and signal attenuation during the transmission process and obtain a better transmission effect. It can effectively reduce the working energy consumption of the implantable sensor when collecting and transmitting neural signals inside the target object, and then can reduce the device size of the implantable sensor, enabling the implantable sensor to be more conveniently and flexibly arranged inside the target object; at the same time, it can also effectively avoid harming the health of the implanted target object. In addition, the spike sorting unit in the above implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition can also finely identify and distinguish different neural signal types, and separate multiple neural signal information corresponding to different types of neurons respectively, so as to better meet diverse and complex scenario requirements.

[0029] Moreover, a spike detector is also arranged in the implantable sensor. Using this spike detector, it can be detected whether the electrical signal collected by the electrode is a nerve pulse signal, and then according to the corresponding spike detection result, the neural signal processing circuit can be automatically triggered to switch between the first mode state and the second mode state to match the mode state, so that the neural signal processing circuit can be intelligently and automatically controlled to enter the standby state without the need for preset signal data processing, further reducing the overall working energy consumption of the implantable sensor.

[0030] Further, the neural signal processing circuit inside the implantable sensor may specifically further include structures such as a filter amplifier, a clock generation circuit, and an analog-to-digital converter. Among them, the filter amplifier is respectively connected to the electrode and the analog-to-digital converter; the analog-to-digital converter is also connected to the spike sorting unit. Correspondingly, in the second mode state, when the implantable sensor specifically performs preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals using the neural signal processing circuit, it can first use the filter amplifier to perform filtering and amplification processing on the neural signals to obtain the processed neural signals; then use the analog-to-digital converter to convert the processed neural signals into corresponding digital signals; use the spike sorting unit to perform spike sorting processing on the above digital signals using a preset spike sorting algorithm to obtain the corresponding spike sorting results; finally, according to the spike sorting results, separate the time information of action potentials generated by different types of neurons within the target time period as multiple neural signal information that meets the requirements. In addition, based on the above implantable sensor, by setting the filter amplifier to operate in the subthreshold region, while ensuring the operation effect of the filter amplifier, the overall power consumption of the implantable sensor is further reduced.

[0031] Based on the above implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition, it can effectively reduce the power consumption during the acquisition and transmission of neural signals inside the target object, thereby reducing the device size of the implantable sensor, making it more convenient and flexible to be deployed inside the target object; at the same time, it can also avoid introducing a power supply module or energy storage module that may pose a hazard to the health of the organism in the implantable sensor, thereby effectively avoiding harm to the health of the implanted target object, and having higher safety and reliability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] To more clearly illustrate the embodiments of this specification, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the embodiments. The drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in this specification. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0033] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of an implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition provided by an embodiment of this specification;

[0034] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of applying the neural signal acquisition system provided by an embodiment of this specification in a scenario example;

[0035] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of applying the neural signal acquisition system provided by an embodiment of this specification in a scenario example;

[0036] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of an embodiment applying the neural signal acquisition system provided in the embodiments of this specification in a scenario example;

[0037] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of an embodiment applying the neural signal acquisition system provided in the embodiments of this specification in a scenario example;

[0038] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of an embodiment applying the neural signal acquisition system provided in the embodiments of this specification in a scenario example;

[0039] Figure 7 It is a schematic flowchart of a control method for an implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition provided in this specification;

[0040] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of a control device for an implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition provided in this specification. Detailed implementation manners

[0041] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in this specification, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this specification, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this specification, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of this specification.

[0042] Considering that due to the relatively high working energy consumption of existing implantable sensors, it is mostly necessary to additionally arrange a dedicated power supply module for power supply or an energy storage module for energy storage in the implantable sensor, which makes the size of the implantable sensor relatively large. On the one hand, this will increase the overall size of the implantable sensor and make it impossible to conveniently and flexibly arrange the implantable sensor inside the implanted object. On the other hand, it is also easy to cause harm to the health of the implanted object and there are biocompatibility problems. Specifically, for example, since most power supply modules contain materials such as heavy metals that are harmful to the health of organisms, when an implantable sensor containing a power supply module is arranged inside a target object, it will pose a risk to the physical health of the target object. In addition, based on existing implantable neural signal acquisition systems, they can often only collect neural signals (for example, the sum of neural signals in a certain local neural region), and cannot perform spike sorting in real time, thereby resulting in the inability to finely collect multiple neural signal information corresponding to different types of neurons.

[0043] In view of the above problems existing in the existing implantable sensors, the present application considers that the structure of the implantable sensors can be specifically improved based on multiple dimensions by jointly adopting various methods, so as to reduce the working energy consumption of the implantable sensors, thereby reducing the device size of the implantable sensors and avoiding harm to the health of the implanted target object.

[0044] First, the structure of the neural signal processing chip inside the implantable sensor can be correspondingly improved, so that after the implantable sensor collects neural signals, the neural signals collected can be first subjected to preset signal data processing through the neural signal processing circuit in the neural signal processing chip. Specifically, after the neural signals are collected, the implantable sensor can first convert the neural signals from the analog signal form into the corresponding digital signal form through the analog-to-digital converter in the neural signal processing circuit to obtain the corresponding digital signals; then, the spike sorting unit in the neural signal processing circuit performs spike sorting on the digital signals after analog-to-digital conversion, and only the digital signals corresponding to the activity events of multiple different types of neurons (i.e., the peak times of the action potentials of different neurons) are added to the echo signal as multiple neural signal information, and the echo signal carrying the above digital signals is transmitted from the inside of the target object, so that the external device arranged outside the target object can successfully receive the above multiple neural signal information. In this way, the working energy consumption of the implantable sensor can be greatly reduced, making it unnecessary to additionally arrange a power supply module or an energy storage module in the implantable sensor that may be harmful to the health of the implanted target object; at the same time, problems such as signal distortion and easy attenuation existing when directly transmitting neural signals in the analog signal form can be avoided, and interference and errors in the process of neural signal transmission are reduced.

[0045] Secondly, based on the specific structure of the above-mentioned implantable sensor, the overall operating mechanism of the implantable sensor is correspondingly improved, enabling the implantable sensor to automatically switch between two modes: the first mode state (corresponding to the standby state) and the second mode state (corresponding to the working state). Specifically, when the implantable sensor detects through the spike detector that the voltage of the electrical signal collected in the target nerve area is less than or equal to the preset spike threshold, it automatically switches to the first mode state. At this time, most of the devices in the nerve signal processing circuit are in the standby state and consume almost no energy. When the implantable sensor detects through the spike detector that the voltage of the electrical signal collected in the target nerve area is greater than the preset spike threshold, it automatically switches to the second mode state. At this time, the nerve signal processing circuit is in the working state and will perform preset signal data processing on the collected electrical signal, including filtering and amplification, analog-to-digital conversion, spike classification, etc., and transmit the obtained multiple nerve signal information as results to an external device arranged outside the target object. In this way, a low-power design can be introduced into the signal processing chip of the implantable sensor, and based on this low-power design, through the switching control of the corresponding mode states, the working energy consumption of the implantable sensor can be further reduced.

[0046] Based on the above considerations, referring to Figure 1 As shown, an embodiment of this specification provides an implantable sensor for nerve signal acquisition.

[0047] Specifically, the implantable sensor can be arranged inside the target object. The implantable sensor at least includes: an ultrasonic transducer and a nerve signal processing chip. Among them, the nerve signal processing chip at least includes a nerve signal processing circuit. The nerve signal processing circuit at least includes a spike classification unit. The nerve signal processing circuit is also connected to an electrode. The electrode is used to collect electrical signals in the target nerve area of the target object.

[0048] The ultrasonic transducer is used to receive ultrasonic signals and convert the received ultrasonic signals into electrical energy for the operation of the implantable sensor to trigger the implantable sensor to enter the first mode state. Among them, the nerve signal processing circuit is in the standby state in the first mode state.

[0049] In the first mode state, the implantable sensor performs spike detection on the electrical signal collected by the electrode to determine whether the collected electrical signal is a nerve pulse signal (i.e., a valid nerve signal, which can be simply referred to as a nerve signal here). When it is determined that the collected electrical signal is a nerve pulse signal, it triggers the entry into the second mode state. Among them, the nerve signal processing circuit is in the working state in the second mode state.

[0050] In the second mode state, the neural signal processing circuit is configured to perform preset signal data processing on the collected neural pulse signals to obtain a plurality of neural signal information that meets the requirements; wherein, the plurality of neural signal information respectively corresponds to multiple types of neural signals; the ultrasonic transducer is further configured to externally transmit an echo signal carrying the plurality of neural signal information.

[0051] Among them, the above-mentioned target object can specifically be an animal or a human, etc.

[0052] The above-mentioned target neural region can specifically be understood as the region within the target object where neurons to be detected are distributed. Specifically, the above-mentioned target neural region can include the brain tissue region of the target object, for example, the prefrontal lobe, the epidermis layer, the hippocampus, etc. In addition, the above-mentioned target neural region can also include the thigh nerve region, the abdominal nerve region, etc. of the target object. Of course, it should be noted that the above-listed target neural regions are only illustrative. In specific implementation, according to the specific situation and processing requirements, the above-mentioned target neural region can also include other regions within the target object. This specification does not limit this.

[0053] In specific implementation, reference can be made to Figure 2 As shown, in order to cooperate with the use of the implantable sensor disposed inside the target object, an external device corresponding thereto can also be disposed outside the target object. Among them, the external device is used to transmit an ultrasonic signal to the implantable sensor, and receive and process the echo signal returned by the implantable sensor. Specifically, the external device can at least include an ultrasonic probe.

[0054] Among them, the above-mentioned ultrasonic probe can specifically be understood as a device used to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves during ultrasonic detection.

[0055] The above-mentioned external device can transmit and receive ultrasonic signals through the above-mentioned ultrasonic probe.

[0056] Specifically, referring to Figure 3 As shown, the external device can further include: a computer device and a data acquisition card; wherein, the data acquisition card is electrically connected to the computer device and the ultrasonic probe respectively.

[0057] Among them, the above-mentioned computer device can specifically include a desktop computer, a server, a laptop computer, etc., or other electronic devices supporting functions such as data operation and data storage.

[0058] The above-mentioned data acquisition card can specifically be an integrated circuit board with RTL logic that supports 8-channel delay transmission and synchronous reception, as well as 8-channel beamforming and envelope detection.

[0059] The ultrasonic probe may specifically be an ultrasonic phased array transducer probe.

[0060] In some embodiments, the external device ultrasonically locates the implanted sensor inside the target object through an ultrasonic probe to determine the position information of the implanted sensor; and based on the position information, transmits an ultrasonic signal in a direction toward the implanted sensor.

[0061] Based on the above embodiments, the external device can aim at the implanted sensor according to the target emission angle, and accurately transmit the ultrasonic signal to the implanted sensor to better power the implanted sensor.

[0062] See also Figure 1 As shown, the above-mentioned implantable sensor (also referred to as implantable sensor) can be specifically arranged inside the target object, and at least includes an ultrasonic transducer and a neural signal processing chip.

[0063] The ultrasonic transducer is usually composed of a housing, a matching layer, a piezoelectric ceramic disc transducer, a backing, a lead cable and a Cymbal array receiver, which can receive and transmit ultrasonic signals and can also realize the mutual conversion of mechanical energy and electrical energy.

[0064] The above-mentioned implantable sensor can receive ultrasonic signals emitted by an external device through an ultrasonic transducer, and convert the mechanical energy of the ultrasonic wave into electrical energy for use in the operation of the implantable sensor.

[0065] In this way, there is no need to install power modules such as batteries or other energy storage modules in the implantable sensor, which can effectively reduce the size of the implantable sensor, reduce the cost of the implantable sensor, and make the implantable sensor relatively easier and more convenient to be installed inside the target object, avoiding biocompatibility issues.

[0066] Furthermore, the implantable sensor can also reflect echo signals to the outside through the ultrasonic transducer.

[0067] The neural signal processing chip at least includes a neural signal processing circuit, wherein the neural signal processing circuit may be further connected to electrodes, wherein the electrodes may include a first electrode and a second electrode.

[0068] For details, see Figure 3As shown, the above-mentioned first electrode can be inserted into a position in the target nerve area that is relatively far from the neuron cells and used as the negative electrode (for example, VRef, reference potential). The above-mentioned second electrode can be inserted into a position in the target nerve area that is relatively close to the neuron cells and used as the positive electrode (for example, Neuron, nerve cell). The potential difference between the two electrodes (i.e., the voltage of the electrical signal in the target nerve area) can be monitored and recorded through the above-mentioned first electrode and second electrode.

[0069] The above-mentioned neural signal processing circuit can be used to perform preset signal data processing on the collected electrical signals, and finally convert the initial analog signals (i.e., the directly collected electrical signals) that are mixed together, have a lot of interference, and a large amount of data into digital signals (i.e., multiple neural signal information that meets the requirements) that are relatively finely corresponding to multiple different types of neural signals, have a high accuracy, and a small amount of data. Among them, the above-mentioned neural signal information can specifically include the peak time of the action potential of the corresponding type of neuron.

[0070] After obtaining the electrical energy provided by the ultrasonic transducer, the above-mentioned neural signal processing chip starts to operate and enters the first mode state; in the first mode state, the neural signal processing circuit is in a standby state and does not work immediately, so as to reduce the overall working energy consumption. In the first mode state, the neural signal processing chip detects whether the collected electrical signal is a nerve pulse signal, that is, whether it is a nerve pulse signal. If it is determined that the collected electrical signal is not a nerve pulse signal, the first mode state is continued. When the neural signal processing chip determines that the collected electrical signal is a nerve pulse signal, it triggers to enter the second mode state; in the second mode state, the neural signal processing circuit is awakened to enter the working state. Correspondingly, the neural signal processing chip can perform preset signal data processing on the collected electrical signals through the neural signal processing circuit to obtain multiple electrical signal information that meets the requirements; then add the above-mentioned multiple electrical signal information to the echo signal respectively, and transmit the echo signal carrying the multiple electrical signal information through the ultrasonic transducer.

[0071] Correspondingly, the external device can receive the above-mentioned echo signal through the ultrasonic probe and extract the required multiple neural signal information from the echo signal for subsequent corresponding data processing.

[0072] In this way, the working energy consumption during the operation of the implantable sensor can be effectively reduced; at the same time, the multiple neural signal information collected by the implantable sensor can be accurately and reliably sent to the external device.

[0073] In some embodiments, after receiving the ultrasonic signal transmitted by the external device through the ultrasonic transducer, the implantable sensor can use the ultrasonic transducer to convert the received ultrasonic signal into electrical energy for the operation of the implantable sensor.

[0074] Specifically, in order to reduce the size of the implantable sensor, the implantable sensor in this embodiment may not be provided with a power module or an energy storage module. Generally, when no ultrasonic signal is received, the implantable sensor is in a shutdown state because it does not have the electrical energy required for operation. When an ultrasonic signal is received, the implantable sensor starts to operate and enters the first mode state because it obtains the electrical energy converted by the ultrasonic transducer based on the ultrasonic signal.

[0075] In the first mode state, in order to reduce the working energy consumption of the implantable sensor, the neural signal processing circuit is in a standby state and does not operate. However, some components in the implantable sensor (for example, the spike detector) are in a working state. The implantable sensor can detect whether the electrical signal collected based on the first electrode and the second electrode is a nerve pulse signal through the above-mentioned components in the working state. When it is detected that the collected electrical signal is a nerve pulse signal, the implantable sensor will trigger and enter the second mode state.

[0076] In the second mode state, the neural signal processing circuit will enter the working state. Correspondingly, the implantable sensor can use the neural signal processing circuit to convert the collected electrical signal into corresponding multiple neural signal information.

[0077] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 3 as shown, the neural signal processing circuit may specifically further include: a filter amplifier (or called an analog front end, for example, AFE), a clock generation circuit (or called a clock signal generation circuit), and an analog-to-digital converter (for example, LC-ADC), etc.;

[0078] Among them, the filter amplifier is respectively connected to the electrode and the analog-to-digital converter; the analog-to-digital converter is also connected to the spike classification unit.

[0079] Specifically, the above-mentioned filter amplifier can be electrically connected to the first electrode, the second electrode, and the analog-to-digital converter respectively; the analog-to-digital converter can also be electrically connected to the spike classification unit and the clock generation circuit respectively; the spike classification unit can also be electrically connected to the clock generation circuit respectively. Among them, the spike classification unit is configured with a preset spike classification algorithm.

[0080] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 3As shown, the neural signal processing chip may specifically further include a spike detector; wherein, the spike detector may be respectively connected to an electrode, a spike classification unit, a clock generation circuit, and an analog-to-digital converter.

[0081] Among them, the spike detector is configured with a preset spike threshold. The above-mentioned preset spike threshold may specifically be obtained by statistically sorting a large number of effective sample neural electrical signals in advance.

[0082] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned spike detection is performed on the electrical signals collected by the electrode to determine whether the collected electrical signals are neural pulse signals. Specifically, in implementation, it may include the following: using the spike detector to detect the electrical signals collected by the electrode to obtain corresponding spike detection results; and determining whether the collected electrical signals are neural pulse signals according to the spike detection results.

[0083] Specifically, in implementation, according to the spike detection results, when it is determined that the voltage value of the collected electrical signal is greater than or equal to the preset spike threshold, it can be determined that the collected electrical signal is a neural pulse signal; at this time, the switch can be triggered to enter the second mode state. On the contrary, when it is determined that the voltage value of the collected electrical signal is less than the preset spike threshold, it can be determined that the collected electrical signal is not a neural pulse signal; at this time, it continues to maintain the first mode state and continues to detect and judge whether the next collected electrical signal is a neural pulse signal.

[0084] Based on the above embodiments, in the first mode state, the implantable sensor can use the still working spike detector to detect the electrical signals collected by the electrode to automatically and accurately judge whether the collected electrical signals are valid neural pulse signals.

[0085] In some embodiments, when it is determined that the collected electrical signal is a neural pulse signal, the implantable sensor will trigger and automatically enter the second mode state. Specifically, when it is determined that the collected electrical signal is a neural pulse signal, the implantable sensor can send wake-up signals to the connected spike classification unit, clock generation circuit, and analog-to-digital converter respectively through the spike detector, so that the spike classification unit, clock generation circuit, and analog-to-digital converter are started and enter the working state, thereby switching to the second mode state.

[0086] Specifically, the spike detector can be set to send a high-level signal to the spike classification unit, clock generation circuit, and analog-to-digital converter respectively as a wake-up signal when it detects that the collected electrical signal is a neural pulse signal. Correspondingly, the spike classification unit, clock generation circuit, and analog-to-digital converter can receive and respond to the wake-up signal and enter the working state from the previous standby state. Thus, the entire implantable sensor automatically enters the second mode state.

[0087] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 4 as shown, in the second mode state, the neural signal processing circuit is used to perform preset signal data processing on the collected neural pulse signals to obtain multiple pieces of neural signal information that meet the requirements. Specifically, in implementation, it may include the following:

[0088] S1: Use the filter amplifier to perform filter amplification processing on the neural pulse signals to obtain processed neural signals;

[0089] S2: Use the analog-to-digital converter to convert the processed neural signals into corresponding digital signals;

[0090] S3: Use the spike sorting unit to perform spike sorting processing on the digital signals according to a preset spike sorting algorithm to obtain corresponding spike sorting results;

[0091] S4: According to the spike sorting results, separate the time information of action potentials generated by different types of neurons within the target time period as multiple pieces of neural signal information that meet the requirements.

[0092] Among them, the above-mentioned target time period can specifically be understood as the current acquisition recording time period.

[0093] Based on the above embodiments, the implantable sensor can use the corresponding neural signal processing circuit to finely separate multiple pieces of neural signal information by performing preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals.

[0094] Among them, the neural signals directly collected by the implantable sensor through the electrodes are a form of spectral data of continuous analog signals. The amount of data itself is relatively large, resulting in a heavy data transmission burden, and further increasing the energy consumption required during the transmission process; at the same time, such analog signals are also easily interfered by external factors during the transmission process, with relatively large attenuation, resulting in poor signal quality finally received by the external device.

[0095] In view of the above problems existing in the analog signals, the present application considers that the analog signals can be converted into discrete digital signals; and then based on the form of the digital signals, transmit the required neural signal information. This can effectively reduce the amount of data transmission and relieve the data transmission burden, but still retain the key information required. In addition, different from analog signals, digital signals also have advantages such as anti-interference and small attenuation, so as to effectively reduce the loss during the signal data transmission process and ensure that the external device can finally receive signal data with higher quality and smaller error.

[0096] In specific implementation, a filter amplifier can be used to first perform band-pass filtering on the neural signals to eliminate the noise information in the neural signals; then, the filtered neural signals are amplified to obtain processed neural signals with relatively good effects.

[0097] In specific implementation, the clock generation circuit can first generate a clock signal and send the clock signal to the spike sorting unit to perform clock calibration on the spike sorting unit, so as to more accurately implement spike sorting processing. In addition, the clock generation circuit can also send a unified clock signal to devices such as the analog-to-digital converter and the analog front-end to achieve automatic calibration, so as to improve the overall signal processing accuracy.

[0098] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 5 As shown, the above-mentioned spike sorting unit is used to perform spike sorting processing on the digital signal according to a preset spike sorting algorithm to obtain corresponding spike sorting results. In specific implementation, it includes the following contents:

[0099] S1: Detect and intercept the current spike signal from the digital signal;

[0100] S2: According to the preset spike sorting algorithm, calculate the feature distance between the current spike signal and the cluster centers of each preset spike cluster; wherein, a preset spike cluster corresponds to a type of neural signal;

[0101] S3: Detect whether there is a cluster center of a target spike cluster whose feature distance from the current spike signal is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold in the preset spike clusters;

[0102] S4: When it is determined that there is a cluster center of a target spike cluster whose feature distance from the current spike signal is less than or equal to the preset distance threshold in the preset spike clusters, determine the neural signal type corresponding to the target spike cluster as the spike sorting result of the digital signal.

[0103] Among them, the above-mentioned neural signal type can specifically be the type of neuron cells that emit neural signals. Specifically, the neuron cell types include: multipolar neurons, bipolar neurons, pseudounipolar neurons, etc. Of course, it should be noted that the above-listed neural signal types are only illustrative. In specific implementation, the above-mentioned neural signal types can also include other types. Regarding this, this specification does not make a limitation.

[0104] The above-mentioned feature distance can specifically be the Euclidean distance.

[0105] In specific implementation, detecting and intercepting the current spike signal from the digital signal may include: detecting the current digital signal to determine the position point of the peak potential; and intercepting a signal segment of a preset number of sampling points from the current digital signal according to the position point of the peak potential as the current spike signal.

[0106] Specifically, the implantable sensor may utilize a spike detector to assist in detecting and intercepting the current spike signal from the digital signal.

[0107] In specific implementation, when determining that the current spike signal belongs to the target spike cluster, the average waveform of the target spike cluster may be updated according to the current spike signal to update the cluster center of the target spike cluster.

[0108] Further, after updating the cluster center of the target spike cluster, it may be detected whether there is a preset spike cluster other than the target spike cluster whose characteristic distance from the updated target spike cluster is less than a preset merging distance threshold; if it is determined that there is such a cluster, the preset spike cluster whose characteristic distance from the updated target spike cluster is less than the preset merging distance threshold may be merged with the updated target spike cluster.

[0109] In specific implementation, when it is determined that there is no target spike cluster in the preset spike cluster whose characteristic distance from the current spike signal is less than or equal to the preset distance threshold, a new preset spike cluster may be created; and the current spike signal may be determined as the cluster center of the preset spike cluster.

[0110] In the above manner, the spike classification process of the current spike signal in the current digital signal can be completed. Then, the above manner may be repeated to sequentially complete the spike classification process for the next spike signal and the next digital signal to obtain the corresponding spike classification results. In addition, during the spike classification process, corresponding sorting processing may be performed according to the corresponding sorting rules to obtain the sorted spike classification results.

[0111] In specific implementation, before detecting and intercepting the current spike signal from the current digital signal, the digital signal may be filtered first.

[0112] Before specific implementation, based on a preset spike classification algorithm, the following method can be used to obtain multiple preset spike clusters: Obtain the test electrical signals regarding the target nerve region; obtain the corresponding test digital signals according to the test electrical signals; intercept multiple test spike signals from the test digital signals; process the test spike signals to extract the corresponding multiple test spike features; where the data dimension of the test spike features is smaller than that of the test spike signals; by performing clustering processing on the multiple test spike features, determine multiple preset spike clusters and the cluster centers of the multiple preset spike clusters.

[0113] Among them, the above-mentioned test electrical signals can specifically be the electrical signals collected by the electrode in the target nerve region during the test stage before specific implementation.

[0114] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 6 as shown, the implantable sensor can specifically include an adjustment switch; where the adjustment switch is connected in parallel with the ultrasonic transducer;

[0115] Correspondingly, the implantable sensor controls the closing time of the adjustment switch according to different nerve signal types, so as to add multiple nerve signal information to the echo signal based on different pulse width information.

[0116] In some embodiments, the implantable sensor can specifically include multiple adjustment circuits; where the adjustment circuits are connected in parallel with the ultrasonic transducer; the adjustment circuits include an adjustment switch or a combination of an adjustment switch and a resistor;

[0117] Correspondingly, the implantable sensor controls and adjusts the impedance matching between the ultrasonic transducer and the load circuit through the adjustment circuit according to different nerve signal types, and adds multiple nerve signal information to the echo signal.

[0118] Based on the above embodiments, the implantable sensor can finely identify and distinguish different nerve signal types, add different nerve signal information to the echo signal in a matching manner; and then send and transmit the echo signal carrying multiple nerve signal information to an external device. In this way, the external device can perform detection and demodulation on the received echo signal to extract multiple nerve signal information corresponding to different nerve signal types.

[0119] Specifically, for example, referring to Figure 6As shown, the implantable sensor can distinguish different types of nerve signals based on nerve signal information. By controlling the closing time of the adjustment switch, the different pulse width information of different nerve signal information can be adjusted, so that multiple different nerve signal information corresponding to different nerve signal types can be added to the echo signal in a matching manner (for example, an adjustment method based on PWM). Correspondingly, the external device can identify multiple nerve signal information corresponding to different nerve signal types by distinguishing different pulse width information.

[0120] Specifically, for another example, the implantable sensor can also distinguish different types of nerve signals based on nerve signal information. By controlling the conduction of different adjustment circuits, the amplitude information of the corresponding different nerve signal information can be adjusted, so that multiple different nerve signal information corresponding to different nerve signal types can be added to the echo signal in a matching manner (for example, an adjustment method based on ASK). Correspondingly, the external device can identify multiple nerve signal information corresponding to different nerve signal types by distinguishing different amplitude information.

[0121] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 6 As shown, the above-mentioned nerve signal processing chip can also be provided with a rectifying circuit (for example, a rectifier). Specifically, the above-mentioned rectifier can be electrically connected to the ultrasonic transducer. Correspondingly, in specific implementation, the implantable sensor can first directly convert the obtained electrical energy into alternating current through the ultrasonic transducer, and then further process the above-mentioned alternating current through the rectifier to obtain direct current suitable for subsequent device use.

[0122] The above-mentioned nerve signal processing chip can also be provided with a diode. Specifically, the above-mentioned diode can be connected in parallel with the rectifier or the ultrasonic transducer. In specific implementation, the diode can be used to provide overvoltage protection for the nerve signal processing chip to prevent sudden excessive electrical energy generated by the ultrasonic transducer or the rectifier from damaging the device structure on the nerve signal processing chip.

[0123] The above-mentioned nerve signal processing chip can also be provided with a capacitor (for example, C L ). Specifically, the above-mentioned capacitor can be connected in parallel with the rectifier or the ultrasonic transducer. In specific implementation, the capacitor can be used to filter out smaller alternating current signals, reduce interference with the preset signal data processing, and at the same time can play a role of temporary energy storage when necessary.

[0124] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned filter amplifier may specifically be a filter amplifier based on transistors (e.g., CMOS transistors). During specific implementation, the filter amplifier can be set to operate in the subthreshold region. Different from operating in the saturation region, operating in the subthreshold region enables the filter amplifier to obtain a relatively better gain energy efficiency ratio, thereby further reducing the overall operating power consumption of the implantable sensor.

[0125] In some embodiments, during specific implementation, when the external device performs ultrasonic positioning on the implantable sensor inside the target object through the ultrasonic probe, a first indication signal for characterizing positioning can be added to the emitted ultrasonic signal. Correspondingly, when the implantable sensor receives the above ultrasonic signal through the ultrasonic transducer and detects the above first indication signal, it can determine that it is currently in the positioning stage, and at this time, it can not enter the first mode state.

[0126] When the external device directionally emits ultrasonic signals to the implantable sensor through the ultrasonic probe, a second indication signal for characterizing work of the user can be added to the emitted ultrasonic signal. Correspondingly, when the implantable sensor receives the above ultrasonic signal through the ultrasonic transducer and detects the above second indication signal, it can determine that it is currently in the working stage, and only then will it enter the first mode state.

[0127] In addition, when the implantable sensor receives ultrasonic signals emitted by other devices except the external device through the ultrasonic transducer, since the first indication signal and the second indication signal are not detected, it can not make a response. In this way, it can effectively avoid the situation that the implantable sensor disposed inside the target object is accidentally triggered due to receiving ultrasonic waves emitted by other devices.

[0128] In some embodiments, the neural signal processing chip may further include a stimulation function circuit. Specifically, the above stimulation function circuit is disposed in parallel with the neural signal processing circuit in the neural signal processing chip. Among them, the stimulation function circuit is in parallel with the neural signal processing circuit; the stimulation function circuit is connected to the target nerve area.

[0129] Specifically, the above stimulation function circuit is connected to an electrode. Correspondingly, the above stimulation function circuit can be connected to the target nerve area through the electrode.

[0130] During specific implementation, the implantable sensor can apply a stimulation signal (an electrical signal) to the target nerve area through the stimulation function circuit to actively stimulate neurons in the target nerve area to generate neural signals.

[0131] Meanwhile, the implantable sensor can also detect whether a nerve impulse signal appears in the target nerve area through a spike detector. When a nerve impulse signal appears in the target nerve area, the nerve signal is collected through the electrode; then, preset signal data processing is performed through a nerve signal processing circuit to obtain corresponding multiple nerve signal information; and then, an echo signal carrying the multiple nerve signal information is provided to an external device for further processing.

[0132] Specifically, the external device can also add a third indication signal for characterizing a stimulation instruction to the ultrasonic signal directionally emitted by the implantable sensor. Correspondingly, when the implantable sensor detects the presence of the third indication signal in the ultrasonic signal, it triggers the application of a stimulation signal in the target nerve area through a stimulation function circuit.

[0133] Among them, the above-mentioned third indication signal can also carry specific stimulation parameters, for example, stimulation voltage, stimulation time, stimulation duration, etc. Correspondingly, the implantable sensor can, according to the demodulation and the stimulation parameters in the third indication signal, apply a stimulation signal that meets the requirements in the target nerve area in a matching manner through the stimulation function circuit.

[0134] In this way, the above-mentioned implantable nerve signal acquisition system can be used to simultaneously implement stimulation application and nerve signal acquisition, so as to meet relatively more complex and diverse scenario requirements.

[0135] In some embodiments, the implantable sensor may further include an energy storage capacitor module. Among them, this energy storage capacitor module can be connected to the ultrasonic transducer. Specifically, part of the electrical energy obtained by converting the received ultrasonic signal through the ultrasonic transducer can be stored in this energy storage capacitor module. Among them, this energy storage capacitor module is different from a conventional energy storage module, has a relatively small structure, can store relatively less electrical energy, and does not contain substances such as heavy metals that are harmful to the health of organisms.

[0136] Correspondingly, in specific implementation, when the implantable sensor detects that during the process of performing preset signal data processing on nerve signals or during the process of externally transmitting an echo signal carrying multiple nerve signal information, the ultrasonic signal emitted by the external device suddenly interrupts, the above-mentioned capacitor energy storage module will be temporarily switched to discharge, so as to provide targeted emergency power supply for related devices in the implantable sensor, enabling the implantable sensor to continue to complete the corresponding work within a relatively short period of time, and making the implantable sensor have better reliability.

[0137] Specifically, considering that during the process of the implantable sensor directionally emitting ultrasonic signals, the implantable sensor disposed inside the target object may be displaced, resulting in the inability to continuously and accurately aim at the implantable sensor to emit ultrasonic signals.

[0138] Therefore, during the process of transmitting ultrasonic signals to the implantable sensor, the external device can also use a data acquisition card and an ultrasonic probe to detect in real time whether the intensity change data of the echo signal returned by the implantable sensor is greater than a preset change data threshold. If it is detected that the intensity change data of the echo signal is less than or equal to the preset change data threshold, it can be determined that the position information of the current implantable sensor has not changed, or has only changed relatively slightly, and will not have a significant impact on the directional emission effect of the ultrasonic signal, and there is no need to adjust the emission angle. If it is detected that the intensity change data of the echo signal is greater than the preset change data threshold, it can be determined that the position information of the current implantable sensor has changed, and this change is relatively large, which will have a significant impact on the directional emission effect of the ultrasonic signal, and the emission angle needs to be adjusted.

[0139] After determining that the emission angle needs to be adjusted, the change data of the position information of the implantable sensor and the position information change trend can be calculated based on the intensity change data of the echo signal within a current time period; furthermore, the target emission angle can be adjusted in a targeted manner according to the change data of the position information of the implantable sensor and the position information change trend to obtain a adjusted target emission angle that can match. Furthermore, based on the adjusted target emission angle, the implantable sensor can be targeted again to accurately transmit ultrasonic signals to the implantable sensor.

[0140] In this way, the external device can track the actual position information of the implantable sensor in real time and adjust the emission angle in a timely manner according to the change of the position information of the implantable sensor, so as to continuously aim at the implantable sensor and directionally transmit ultrasonic signals.

[0141] In some embodiments, when the external device is specifically implemented, it can also use a data acquisition card to control the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo signal emitted by the implantable sensor; and demodulate a plurality of nerve signal information from the echo signal; further, the external device can also perform corresponding data processing according to the plurality of nerve signal information through a computer device.

[0142] As can be seen from the above, the implantable sensor for nerve signal acquisition provided by the embodiments of the present specification can effectively reduce the working energy consumption when collecting nerve signals inside the target object, and further can reduce the device size of the implantable sensor, so that the implantable sensor can be more conveniently and flexibly arranged inside the target object; at the same time, it can also effectively avoid harming the health of the implanted target object. In addition, based on the above-mentioned implantable sensor for nerve signal acquisition, it can also finely identify and distinguish different nerve signal types, and collect a plurality of nerve signal information corresponding to different neurons respectively, so as to better meet the diverse and complex scenario requirements.

[0143] Furthermore, the neural signal processing circuit inside the implantable sensor may specifically further include structures such as a filter amplifier, a clock generation circuit, and an analog-to-digital converter; among them, the filter amplifier is respectively connected to the electrode and the analog-to-digital converter; the analog-to-digital converter is also connected to the spike sorting unit. Correspondingly, in the second mode state, when the implantable sensor specifically performs preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals by using the neural signal processing circuit, it can first use the filter amplifier to perform filtering and amplification processing on the neural signals to obtain the processed neural signals; then use the analog-to-digital converter to convert the processed neural signals into corresponding digital signals; use the spike sorting unit to perform spike sorting processing on the above digital signals by using a preset spike sorting algorithm to obtain the corresponding spike sorting results; finally, according to the spike sorting results, separate the time information of action potentials generated by different types of neurons within the target time period as multiple neural signal information that meets the requirements.

[0144] Based on the above implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition, it can effectively reduce the working energy consumption when collecting neural signals inside the target object, and further reduce the device size of the implantable sensor, so that the implantable sensor can be more conveniently and flexibly arranged inside the target object; at the same time, it can also avoid introducing a power supply module or an energy storage module that may cause harm to the health of the organism in the implantable sensor, and thus can effectively avoid harm to the health of the implanted target object, with higher safety. In specific implementation, the relatively large amount of original neural signals in the form of analog signals can be first converted into the peak time information of different neuron action potentials in the form of digital signals as the multiple neural signal information; then the above multiple neural signal information is added to the echo signal for transmission. In this way, only the time information during the neural activities of different types of neurons in the form of digital signals needs to be transmitted, without the need to transmit the complete spectrum of the collected original neural signals, thereby being able to greatly reduce the overall working energy consumption of the implantable sensor; at the same time, it can also effectively reduce the error interference and signal attenuation during the transmission process and obtain a better transmission effect.

[0145] Refer to Figure 7 As shown, for the implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition provided in this specification, this specification also provides a control method for the implantable sensor. In specific implementation, it may include the following contents:

[0146] S701: Control the ultrasonic transducer to receive an ultrasonic signal and convert the ultrasonic signal into electrical energy for the operation of the implantable sensor;

[0147] S702: Control the spike detector to detect whether the electrical signal collected by the electrode is a neural pulse signal;

[0148] S703: When it is determined that the electrical signal collected by the electrode is a nerve pulse signal, control the filter amplifier to perform filtering and amplification processing on the nerve pulse signal to obtain a processed nerve signal;

[0149] S704: Control the spike sorting unit to perform spike sorting processing on the digital signal using a preset spike sorting algorithm to obtain corresponding spike sorting results;

[0150] S705: According to the spike sorting results, separate the time information of action potentials generated by different types of neurons within the target time period as multiple nerve signal information that meets the requirements;

[0151] S706: Control the ultrasonic transducer to externally emit an echo signal carrying multiple nerve signal information.

[0152] In some embodiments, after controlling the spike detector to detect whether the electrical signal collected by the electrode is a nerve pulse signal, when the method is specifically implemented, the following may further be included: When it is determined that the electrical signal collected by the electrode is a nerve pulse signal, emit a corresponding signal through the spike detector and switch to the second mode state; when it is determined that the electrical signal collected by the electrode is not a nerve pulse signal, emit a corresponding signal through the spike detector and switch to the first mode state.

[0153] Based on the above embodiments, an implantable sensor can be used to receive and perform electrical energy conversion and automatic power supply using externally emitted ultrasonic signals; and then use the implantable sensor to collect and transmit multiple nerve signal information corresponding to multiple different nerve signal types with relatively low operating energy consumption, so as to better meet diverse and complex scenario requirements.

[0154] The embodiments of this specification also provide a terminal device, including a processor and a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor. When the processor is specifically implemented, it can execute the following steps according to the instructions: Control the ultrasonic transducer to receive an ultrasonic signal and convert the ultrasonic signal into electrical energy for the operation of the implantable sensor; control the spike detector to detect whether the electrical signal collected by the electrode is a nerve pulse signal; when it is determined that the electrical signal collected by the electrode is a nerve pulse signal, control the filter amplifier to perform filtering and amplification processing on the nerve pulse signal to obtain a processed nerve signal; control the spike sorting unit to perform spike sorting processing on the digital signal using a preset spike sorting algorithm to obtain corresponding spike sorting results; according to the spike sorting results, separate the time information of action potentials generated by different types of neurons within the target time period as multiple nerve signal information that meets the requirements; control the ultrasonic transducer to externally emit an echo signal carrying multiple nerve signal information.

[0155] The embodiments of this specification also provide a computer-readable storage medium based on the above control method of the implantable sensor. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer program instructions, and when the computer program instructions are executed, the following steps are implemented: controlling an ultrasonic transducer to receive an ultrasonic signal and convert the ultrasonic signal into electrical energy for the operation of the implantable sensor; controlling a spike detector to detect whether the electrical signal collected by the electrode is a nerve impulse signal; when it is determined that the electrical signal collected by the electrode is a nerve impulse signal, controlling a filter amplifier to perform filtering and amplification processing on the nerve impulse signal to obtain a processed nerve signal; controlling a spike classification unit to perform spike classification processing on the digital signal by using a preset spike classification algorithm to obtain a corresponding spike classification result; according to the spike classification result, separating the time information of action potentials generated by different neurons within a target time period as multiple nerve signal information that meets the requirements; controlling the ultrasonic transducer to transmit an echo signal carrying the multiple nerve signal information.

[0156] In this embodiment, the above storage medium includes, but is not limited to, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a cache, a hard disk drive (HDD), or a memory card. The memory can be used to store computer program instructions. The network communication unit can be set according to the standards specified by the communication protocol and is used for the interface of network connection communication.

[0157] In this embodiment, the functions and effects specifically implemented by the program instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium can be explained by comparison with other embodiments and will not be elaborated here.

[0158] Refer to Figure 8 As shown, at the software level, the embodiments of this specification also provide a control device for an implantable sensor, which specifically may include the following structural modules:

[0159] A conversion module 801, which specifically can be used to control an ultrasonic transducer to receive an ultrasonic signal and convert the ultrasonic signal into electrical energy for the operation of the implantable sensor;

[0160] A detection module 802, which specifically can be used to control a spike detector to detect whether the electrical signal collected by the electrode is a nerve impulse signal;

[0161] A filter amplification module 803, which specifically can be used to, when it is determined that the electrical signal collected by the electrode is a nerve impulse signal, control a filter amplifier to perform filtering and amplification processing on the nerve impulse signal to obtain a processed nerve signal;

[0162] The spike sorting module 804 can specifically be used to control the spike sorting unit to perform spike sorting processing on the digital signal by using a preset spike sorting algorithm, so as to obtain a corresponding spike sorting result;

[0163] The separation and extraction module 805 can specifically be used to separate, according to the spike sorting result, the time information of action potentials generated by different neurons within a target time period as multiple neural signal information that meets the requirements;

[0164] The transmitting module 806 can specifically be used to control the ultrasonic transducer to externally transmit an echo signal carrying multiple neural signal information.

[0165] It should be noted that the units, devices, or modules etc. illustrated in the above embodiments can specifically be implemented by computer chips or entities, or by products with certain functions. For the convenience of description, when describing the above devices, they are divided into various modules according to functions for separate description. Of course, when implementing this specification, the functions of each module can be implemented in the same or multiple software and / or hardware, or the modules implementing the same function can be realized by a combination of multiple sub-modules or sub-units, etc. The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed coupling or direct coupling or communication connection to each other can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of the devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0166] As can be seen from the above, based on the control device of the implantable sensor provided in the embodiments of this specification, it can effectively reduce the working energy consumption when collecting neural signals inside the target object; at the same time, it can also effectively avoid harming the health of the implanted target object; in addition, it can finely collect and transmit multiple neural signal information corresponding to different neural signal types, so as to better meet the diverse and complex scenario requirements.

[0167] Although this specification provides method operation steps as described in the embodiments or flowcharts, more or fewer operation steps may be included based on conventional or non-creative means. The order of steps listed in the embodiments is only one way among many orders of step execution and does not represent the only order of execution. When the actual device or client product is executed, it may be executed in the order of the method shown in the embodiments or the drawings or in parallel (for example, in an environment with parallel processors or multi-threaded processing, or even in a distributed data processing environment). The terms "comprising", "including" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, product or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, product or device. Without further limitation, there is no exclusion of additional identical or equivalent elements in the process, method, product or device comprising the said elements. Words such as first, second, etc. are used to denote names and do not denote any particular order.

[0168] As is also known to those skilled in the art, in addition to implementing the controller in the form of pure computer-readable program code, it is entirely possible to logically program the method steps so that the controller can be implemented in the form of logic gates, switches, application-specific integrated circuits, programmable logic controllers, embedded microcontrollers, etc. to achieve the same function. Therefore, such a controller can be considered a hardware component, and the devices included therein for implementing various functions can also be regarded as the structures within the hardware component. Or even, the devices for implementing various functions can be regarded as either software modules for implementing the method or the structures within the hardware component.

[0169] This specification may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions executed by a computer, such as program modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, classes, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. This specification may also be practiced in a distributed computing environment where tasks are performed by remote processing devices connected through a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in local and remote computer-readable storage media including storage devices.

[0170] As can be seen from the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that this specification can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of this specification can essentially be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, mobile terminal, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in various embodiments or some parts of the embodiments of this specification.

[0171] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. For the same or similar parts between the various embodiments, reference can be made to each other. The key point of each embodiment is to illustrate the differences from other embodiments. This specification can be used in many general or special computer system environments or configurations. For example: personal computers, server computers, handheld or portable devices, tablet devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set-top boxes, programmable electronic devices, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments including any of the above systems or devices, and so on.

[0172] Although this specification is depicted through embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art know that this specification has many variations and changes without departing from the spirit of this specification. It is hoped that the appended claims will cover these variations and changes without departing from the spirit of this specification.

Claims

1. An implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition, characterized in that, The implantable sensor is disposed inside a target object. The implantable sensor at least includes: an ultrasonic transducer and a neural signal processing chip. Wherein, the neural signal processing chip at least includes a neural signal processing circuit. The neural signal processing circuit at least includes a spike sorting unit. The neural signal processing circuit is also connected to an electrode. The electrode is used to collect electrical signals in a target neural region of the target object. The ultrasonic transducer is used to receive ultrasonic signals and convert the received ultrasonic signals into electrical energy for the operation of the implantable sensor, so as to trigger the implantable sensor to enter the first mode state. Wherein, the neural signal processing circuit is in a standby state in the first mode state. In the first mode state, the implantable sensor determines whether the collected electrical signal is a nerve pulse signal by performing spike detection on the electrical signal collected by the electrode. And when it is determined that the collected electrical signal is a nerve pulse signal, it triggers to enter the second mode state. Wherein, the neural signal processing circuit is in a working state in the second mode state. In the second mode state, the neural signal processing circuit is used to perform preset signal data processing on the collected nerve pulse signals to obtain multiple pieces of nerve signal information that meet the requirements. Wherein, the multiple pieces of nerve signal information respectively correspond to multiple types of nerve signals. The ultrasonic transducer is also used to externally transmit an echo signal carrying the multiple pieces of nerve signal information.

2. The implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition according to claim 1, characterized in that, The neural signal processing circuit further includes: a filter amplifier, a clock generation circuit, and an analog-to-digital converter. Wherein, the filter amplifier is respectively connected to the electrode and the analog-to-digital converter. The analog-to-digital converter is also connected to the spike sorting unit.

3. The implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition according to claim 2, characterized in that, The neural signal processing circuit is used to perform preset signal data processing on the collected nerve pulse signals to obtain multiple pieces of nerve signal information that meet the requirements, including: Using the filter amplifier to perform filtering and amplification processing on the nerve pulse signals to obtain processed nerve signals. Using the analog-to-digital converter to convert the processed nerve signals into corresponding digital signals. Using the spike sorting unit to perform spike sorting processing on the digital signals according to a preset spike sorting algorithm to obtain corresponding spike sorting results. According to the spike sorting results, separating the time information of action potentials generated by different neurons within a target time period as multiple pieces of nerve signal information that meet the requirements.

4. The implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition according to claim 2, characterized in that, A diode is also disposed on the neural signal processing chip. Wherein, the diode is used to provide overvoltage protection for the neural signal processing chip.

5. The implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition according to claim 2, wherein The neural signal processing chip further includes a spike detector. Wherein, the spike detector is respectively connected to the electrode, the spike sorting unit, the clock generation circuit, and the analog-to-digital converter.

6. The implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition according to claim 5, wherein Determining whether the collected electrical signal is a nerve pulse signal by performing spike detection on the electrical signal collected by the electrode, including: Using the spike detector to detect the electrical signal collected by the electrode to obtain a corresponding spike detection result. According to the spike detection result, determining whether the collected electrical signal is a nerve pulse signal.

7. The implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition according to claim 1, characterized in that, The implantable sensor further includes an adjustment switch; wherein, the adjustment switch is connected in parallel with the ultrasonic transducer; Correspondingly, the implantable sensor controls the closing time of the adjustment switch according to different types of nerve signals, so as to add multiple nerve signal information to the echo signal based on different pulse width information.

8. The implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition according to claim 1, wherein The implantable sensor includes a plurality of adjustment circuits; wherein, the adjustment circuits are connected in parallel with the ultrasonic transducer; the adjustment circuits include adjustment switches, or a combination of adjustment switches and resistors; Correspondingly, the implantable sensor controls and adjusts the impedance matching between the ultrasonic transducer and the load circuit through the adjustment circuit according to different types of nerve signals, and adds multiple nerve signal information to the echo signal.

9. The implantable sensor for neural signal acquisition according to claim 1, wherein The nerve signal processing chip further includes a stimulation function circuit; the stimulation function circuit is connected in parallel with the nerve signal processing circuit; the stimulation function circuit is connected to the target nerve area; The stimulation function circuit is used to apply a stimulation signal in the target nerve area.

10. The implantable sensor for nerve signal acquisition according to claim 2, characterized in that, The filter amplifier is set to operate in the subthreshold region.

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