Implantable neural signal acquisition system

Abstract

The present specification provides an implantable neural signal acquisition system. The implantable neural signal acquisition system at least comprises an external device arranged outside a target object and an implantable device arranged inside the target object. The external equipment at least comprises an ultrasonic probe; the implantation equipment at least comprises an ultrasonic transducer and a neural signal processing chip; the neural signal processing chip at least comprises a neural signal processing circuit; the neural signal processing circuit is connected with a first electrode and a second electrode which are arranged in a target neural region of a target object; the neural signal processing circuit is in a standby state when no effective neural signal is detected, and is in a working state when the effective neural signal is detected; the neural signal processing circuit is used for performing preset signal data processing on the acquired neural signals when in a working state to obtain a plurality of pieces of neural signal information. Based on the implantable neural signal acquisition system, the overall working energy consumption of the implantable neural signal acquisition system can be effectively reduced.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In the technical field of neural signal acquisition and processing, it is often necessary to use external devices and implant devices in an implantable neural signal acquisition system in combination to complete the acquisition of neural signals for a target object.

[0003] However, based on the existing implantable neural signal acquisition system, since the external device disposed outside the target object cannot accurately transmit ultrasonic signals to the implant device disposed inside the target object, the external device needs to transmit ultrasonic signals with relatively high power to ensure power supply to the implant device; at the same time, since the implant device is limited by its own circuit structure and working mechanism, its own working energy consumption is relatively large, and thus the overall working energy consumption of the implantable neural signal acquisition system is relatively large.

[0004] For the above technical problems, no effective solution has been proposed yet. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This specification provides an implantable neural signal acquisition system. By effectively using the external device and the implant device in the system in cooperation, the overall working energy consumption of the implantable neural signal acquisition system can be effectively reduced; and it can also collect neural signals in real time, and through spike sorting, obtain multiple neural signal information corresponding to different neural signal types.

[0006] This specification provides an implantable neural signal acquisition system, which at least includes: an external device and an implant device; wherein, the implant device is disposed inside the target object; the external device is disposed outside the target object; the external device at least includes an ultrasonic probe; the implant device at least includes an ultrasonic transducer and a neural signal processing chip; the neural signal processing chip at least includes a neural signal processing circuit; the neural signal processing circuit is connected with a first electrode and a second electrode; the first electrode and the second electrode are used for collecting electrical signals in the target neural region of the target object.

[0007] The external device performs ultrasonic positioning on the implant device inside the target object to determine the position information of the implant device; and according to the position information of the implant device, it directionally transmits ultrasonic signals to the implant device to achieve communication.

[0008] When the implant device receives the ultrasonic signal through the ultrasonic transducer, it converts the ultrasonic signal into electrical energy for the operation of the implant device; and triggers the entry into the first mode state; wherein, the neural signal processing circuit is in a standby state in the first mode state;

[0009] In the first mode state, the implant device performs spike detection on the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode to determine whether the collected electrical signals are neural signals; and in the case of determining that the collected electrical signals are neural signals, triggers the entry into the second mode state; wherein, the neural signal processing circuit is in an operating state in the second mode state;

[0010] In the second mode state, the implant device performs preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals through the neural signal processing circuit to obtain multiple neural signal information that meets the requirements; wherein, the multiple neural signal information respectively corresponds to multiple neural signal types;

[0011] The implant device sends the echo signal carrying multiple neural signal information to the external device through the ultrasonic transducer.

[0012] In one embodiment, the external device further includes: 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.

[0013] In one embodiment, the external device performs ultrasonic positioning on the implant device inside the target object through the ultrasonic probe to determine the position information of the implant device; and according to the position information, directionally emits an ultrasonic signal to the implant device, including:

[0014] The external device controls the ultrasonic probe to perform ultrasonic scanning on the target object through the data acquisition card to generate a target ultrasonic image of the target object;

[0015] The external device determines the position information of the implant device through the computer device according to the target ultrasonic image;

[0016] The external device determines a matching target emission angle through the computer device according to the position information of the implant device;

[0017] The external device controls the ultrasonic probe to directionally emit an ultrasonic signal to the implant device according to the target emission angle through the data acquisition card.

[0018] In one embodiment, the external device also controls the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo signal emitted by the implant device through the data acquisition card; and demodulates multiple neural signal information from the echo signal;

[0019] The external device also performs corresponding data processing according to the multiple neural signal information by means of a computer device.

[0020] In one embodiment, the external device also monitors the intensity change data of the received echo signal; and according to the intensity change data of the echo signal, detects whether the position information of the implanted device has changed;

[0021] When the external device detects that the position information of the implanted device has changed, according to the intensity change data of the echo signal, it adjusts the target emission angle to obtain an adjusted target emission angle;

[0022] The external device controls the ultrasonic probe to emit ultrasonic signals towards the implanted device in a directional manner according to the adjusted target emission angle through a data acquisition card.

[0023] In one embodiment, the neural signal processing circuit at least includes: an analog front-end, a clock signal generator, an analog-to-digital converter, and a spike sorting algorithm module;

[0024] Among them, the analog front-end is electrically connected to the first electrode, the second electrode, and the analog-to-digital converter respectively; the analog-to-digital converter is also electrically connected to the spike sorting algorithm module.

[0025] In one embodiment, the neural signal processing chip further includes a spike detector; among them, the spike detector is electrically connected to the first electrode, the second electrode, the spike sorting algorithm module, the clock signal generator, and the analog-to-digital converter.

[0026] In one embodiment, the implanted device performs spike detection on the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode to determine whether the collected electrical signals are neural signals, including:

[0027] The implanted device performs spike detection on the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode through the spike detector to obtain corresponding spike detection results;

[0028] According to the spike detection results, when it is determined that the potential difference between the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode is greater than a preset spike threshold, it is determined that the collected electrical signals are neural signals.

[0029] In one embodiment, when it is determined that the collected electrical signals are neural signals, it triggers to enter the second mode state, including:

[0030] When it is determined that the acquired electrical signal is a neural signal, the implant device sends wake-up signals to the connected spike sorting algorithm module, clock signal generator, and analog-to-digital converter through a spike detector, so that the spike sorting algorithm module, clock signal generator, and analog-to-digital converter are started and enter the working state.

[0031] In one embodiment, the implant device performs preset signal data processing on the acquired neural signal through a neural signal processing circuit in a neural signal processing chip to obtain multiple pieces of neural signal information that meet the requirements, including:

[0032] The implant device filters and amplifies the neural signal through a pre-amplifier to obtain a processed neural signal;

[0033] The implant device converts the processed neural signal into a corresponding digital signal through an analog-to-digital converter;

[0034] The implant device performs spike sorting processing on the digital signal through a spike sorting algorithm module based on a preset spike sorting algorithm to obtain a corresponding spike sorting result;

[0035] The implant device obtains the multiple pieces of neural signal information according to the spike sorting result.

[0036] In one embodiment, the neural signal information includes the peak time of the neuronal action potential.

[0037] In one embodiment, the implant device sends an echo signal carrying multiple pieces of neural signal information to an external device through an ultrasonic transducer, including:

[0038] The implant device adds the multiple pieces of neural signal information to the echo signal in a matching manner based on different pulse width information and / or pulse width information according to the neural signal information to obtain an echo signal carrying multiple pieces of neural signal information;

[0039] The implant device externally emits the echo signal through the ultrasonic transducer; correspondingly, the external device receives the echo signal through an ultrasonic probe.

[0040] The implantable neural signal acquisition system provided in this specification includes at least an external device disposed outside the target object and an implant device disposed inside the target object. Among them, the external device includes at least an ultrasonic probe; the implant device includes at least an ultrasonic transducer and a neural signal processing chip; the neural signal processing chip at least contains a neural signal processing circuit with structures such as a clock signal generator (or clock generation circuit), an analog-to-digital converter, and a spike sorting algorithm module; the neural signal processing circuit is connected to a first electrode and a second electrode disposed in the target neural region of the target object; the neural signal processing circuit is set to be in a standby state (corresponding to the first mode state) when no valid neural signal is detected, and in a working state (corresponding to the second mode state) when a valid neural signal is detected; the neural signal processing circuit is used to perform preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals when in the working state to obtain multiple neural signal information that meets the requirements. Based on this implantable neural signal acquisition system, in specific implementation, the target object can be ultrasonically positioned by the external device first to determine the position information of the implant device; then, according to this position information, the implant device can be accurately aimed at and ultrasonic signals can be directionally transmitted so that the implant device can smoothly receive relatively more ultrasonic signals, effectively reducing the working energy consumption of the external device. After receiving the ultrasonic signals, the implant device can convert the ultrasonic signals into electrical energy for the operation of the implant device; and first trigger to enter the first mode state; in the first mode state, the neural signal processing circuit is in a standby state to reduce the working energy consumption of the implant device. The implant device will trigger to enter the second mode state only when it is determined through spike detection that the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode are valid neural signals, so that the neural signal processing circuit enters the working state. In the second mode state, the implant device will only perform preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals through the neural signal processing circuit to obtain multiple neural signal information corresponding to the neural signals generated by multiple different types of neurons that meet the requirements; then modulate the above multiple neural signal information onto the echo signal and transmit it to the external device. Among them, the preset signal data processing at least includes spike sorting processing; specifically, the above preset signal data processing can also include: signal amplification processing, filtering processing, analog-to-digital conversion processing, etc.

[0041] Based on the above-mentioned implantable neural signal acquisition system, by effectively coordinating the use of the external device and the implant device in the system, it can specifically reduce the working energy consumption of the external device and the implant device respectively, thereby reducing the overall working energy consumption of the implantable neural signal acquisition system; and it can also enable the external device to precisely obtain multiple neural signal information respectively corresponding to multiple different types of neurons, so as to detect more-dimensional neural cell activities and meet the complex and diverse scenario requirements. In addition, based on the external device, it can also perform real-time tracking on the implant device based on the position information of the target object and timely adjust the emission angle to aim at the implant device and precisely direct the ultrasonic signal emission, improving the energy use efficiency of the emitted ultrasonic signal. Moreover, the neural signal processing chip also performs preset signal data processing on the neural signals, and then it can only transmit the time information (for example, the peak time of the neuron action potential) during the neural activities of different types of neurons in the form of digital signals, without the need to transmit the complete spectrum of the collected neural signals. In this way, while greatly reducing the working energy consumption of the implant device, it can effectively reduce the error interference and signal attenuation during the transmission process, enabling the external device to receive relatively high-precision signal data. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] To more clearly illustrate the embodiments of this specification, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. 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.

[0043] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of an implantable neural signal acquisition system provided by an embodiment of this specification;

[0044] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of an implantable neural signal acquisition system provided by another embodiment of this specification;

[0045] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the method flow for neural signal acquisition using the implantable neural signal acquisition system provided by this specification in a scenario example;

[0046] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of using the implantable neural signal acquisition system provided by the embodiments of this specification in a scenario example;

[0047] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the method flow for neural signal acquisition using the implantable neural signal acquisition system provided by this specification in a scenario example;

[0048] Figure 6 In a scenario example, it is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the implantable neural signal acquisition system provided by the embodiments of this specification;

[0049] Figure 7 In a scenario example, it is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the implantable neural signal acquisition system provided by the embodiments of this specification;

[0050] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the specific structural composition of the implant device in the implantable neural signal acquisition system provided by an embodiment of this specification;

[0051] Figure 9 It is a schematic flow diagram of the neural signal acquisition method of the implantable neural signal acquisition system provided by the embodiments of this specification;

[0052] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of the neural signal acquisition device of the implantable neural signal acquisition system provided by the embodiments of this specification. Detailed implementation manners

[0053] 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 with reference to 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 protection scope of this specification.

[0054] Considering the existing implantable neural signal acquisition system, since it is often difficult for the external device deployed outside the target object to accurately aim at the implant device deployed inside the target object and emit ultrasonic signals in a precise direction, the external device needs to increase its working energy consumption to ensure that the implant device obtains sufficient ultrasonic signals. At the same time, due to the relatively high working energy consumption of conventional implant devices themselves, it is often necessary to additionally deploy a dedicated power supply module for power supply or an energy storage module for energy storage in the implant device, which makes the size of the implant device used relatively large. On the one hand, this will increase the overall size of the implant device, and on the other hand, there will also be 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 the implant device is deployed inside the target object, it will pose a threat to the physical health of the target object. In addition, based on the existing implantable neural signal acquisition system, it is often only possible to collect local action potentials (for example, the sum of neural signals in a certain local neural area), and it is impossible to achieve spike sorting in real time, and thus it is impossible to obtain multiple neural signal information corresponding to different types of neurons.

[0055] In view of the above problems existing in the existing implantable neural signal acquisition system, this application considers that multiple dimensions can be adopted and a variety of methods can be combined for improvement to reduce the working energy consumption of the implant device, thereby reducing the device size of the implant device.

[0056] First, the external device and the implant device in the implantable neural signal acquisition system can be effectively used in cooperation. First, use the external device to perform ultrasonic positioning on the inside of the target object. After determining the position information of the implant device; then, according to the position information of the implant device, accurately emit ultrasonic signals in the direction of the implant device to effectively reduce the working energy consumption of the external device.

[0057] Next, after the implant device in the above-mentioned implantable neural signal acquisition system collects neural signals, it can first perform preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals through the neural signal processing circuit in the neural signal processing chip. Specifically, after the neural signals are collected, the analog-to-digital converter in the neural signal processing circuit can convert the neural signals from the analog signal form into the corresponding digital signal form to obtain the corresponding target digital signal; then, the spike sorting algorithm module in the neural signal processing circuit can perform spike sorting on the target digital signal after analog-to-digital conversion, and only add the digital signals (i.e., multiple neural signal information) corresponding to the activity events of multiple different types of neurons to the echo signal, and transmit the echo signal carrying the above digital signals to the external device arranged outside the target object. In this way, the working energy consumption of the implant device in the implantable neural signal acquisition system can be greatly reduced; at the same time, problems such as signal distortion and easy attenuation when directly transmitting neural signals in analog signal form can also be avoided.

[0058] Secondly, the implant device in the above-mentioned implantable neural signal acquisition system can also 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 implant device detects through the spike detector that the voltage of the electrical signal collected in the target neural area is less than or equal to the preset spike threshold, it switches to the first mode state. At this time, most of the devices in the neural signal processing circuit are in the standby state and hardly consume energy; when the implant device detects through the spike detector that the voltage of the electrical signal collected in the target neural area is greater than the preset spike threshold, it switches to the second mode state. At this time, the neural signal processing circuit is in the working state, and it will perform preset signal data processing on the collected electrical signals, including analog-to-digital conversion, spike sorting, etc., and transmit the multiple neural signal information obtained by the processing to the external device arranged outside the target object as the result. In this way, a low-power design can be introduced into the signal processing chip of the implant device, and based on this low-power design, through the corresponding mode state switching control, the working energy consumption of the implant device can be further reduced, thereby effectively reducing the overall working energy consumption of the implantable neural signal acquisition system.

[0059] Based on the above considerations, referring to Figure 1 as shown, an embodiment of this specification provides an implantable neural signal acquisition system.

[0060] Specifically, the implantable neural signal acquisition system can at least include: an external device and an implant device; wherein, the implant device is disposed inside the target object; the external device is disposed outside the target object; the external device at least includes an ultrasonic probe; the implant device at least includes an ultrasonic transducer and a neural signal processing chip; the neural signal processing chip at least contains a neural signal processing circuit; the neural signal processing circuit is connected with a first electrode and a second electrode; the first electrode and the second electrode are used for collecting electrical signals in the target neural region of the target object;

[0061] The external device performs ultrasonic positioning on the implant device inside the target object through the ultrasonic probe to determine the position information of the implant device; and according to the position information of the implant device, it directionally emits an ultrasonic signal to the implant device to achieve communication;

[0062] When the implant device receives the ultrasonic signal through the ultrasonic transducer, it converts the ultrasonic signal into electrical energy for the operation of the implant device; and triggers to enter the first mode state; wherein, the neural signal processing circuit is in a standby state in the first mode state;

[0063] In the first mode state, the implant device performs spike detection on the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode to determine whether the collected electrical signals are neural signals; and when it is determined that the collected electrical signals are neural signals, it triggers to enter the second mode state; wherein, the neural signal processing circuit is in a working state in the second mode state;

[0064] In the second mode state, the implant device performs preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals through the neural signal processing circuit 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;

[0065] The implant device sends an echo signal carrying a plurality of neural signal information to the external device through the ultrasonic transducer.

[0066] Among them, the above-mentioned target object can specifically be an animal or a human, etc.

[0067] The above-mentioned target nerve region can specifically be understood as the region within the target object where neurons to be detected are distributed. Specifically, the above-mentioned target nerve region may include the brain tissue region of the target object, such as the prefrontal lobe, epidermal layer, hippocampus, etc. In addition, the above-mentioned target nerve region may also include the sciatic nerve region of the target object, etc. Of course, it should be noted that the above-listed target nerve regions are only illustrative. In specific implementation, according to specific circumstances and processing requirements, the above-mentioned target nerve region may also include other regions within the target object. This specification does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0068] Refer to Figure 1 As shown, the above-mentioned external device can specifically be disposed outside the target object and at least includes an ultrasonic probe.

[0069] Among them, the above-mentioned ultrasonic probe can specifically be understood as a device used to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves during ultrasonic detection.

[0070] The above-mentioned external device can transmit and receive ultrasonic signals through the above-mentioned ultrasonic probe.

[0071] Refer to Figure 1 As shown, the above-mentioned implant device (which can also be called an implantable sensor) can specifically be disposed inside the target object and at least includes an ultrasonic transducer and a neural signal processing chip.

[0072] Among them, the above-mentioned ultrasonic transducer usually consists of a housing, a matching layer, a piezoelectric ceramic disk transducer, a backing, a lead cable, and a Cymbal array receiver, and can receive and transmit ultrasonic signals, and can also achieve the mutual conversion of mechanical energy and electrical energy.

[0073] The above-mentioned implant device can receive the ultrasonic signals transmitted by the external device through the ultrasonic transducer and convert the mechanical energy of the ultrasonic waves into electrical energy for the operation of the implant device.

[0074] In this way, it is not necessary to arrange a power module such as a battery or other energy storage modules inside the implant device, thereby effectively reducing the size of the implant device, lowering the cost of the implant device, making it relatively easier and more convenient to arrange the implant device inside the target object, and avoiding biocompatibility problems.

[0075] Furthermore, the above-mentioned implant device can also externally reflect echo signals through the ultrasonic transducer.

[0076] The above-mentioned neural signal processing chip at least includes a neural signal processing circuit; among them, the above-mentioned neural signal processing circuit can specifically be further connected with a first electrode and a second electrode.

[0077] Specifically, 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 (e.g., 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 (e.g., 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.

[0078] The above-mentioned nerve 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 relatively corresponding digital signals that precisely correspond to multiple different types of nerve signals, have a high accuracy, and a small amount of data (i.e., multiple nerve signal information that meets the requirements). Among them, the above-mentioned nerve signal information can specifically include the peak time of the action potential of the corresponding type of neuron.

[0079] After obtaining the electrical energy provided by the ultrasonic transducer, the above-mentioned nerve signal processing chip starts to operate and enters the first mode state; in the first mode state, the nerve 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 nerve signal processing chip detects whether the collected electrical signal is a valid nerve signal. If it is determined that the collected electrical signal is not a valid nerve signal, the first mode state is continued. When the nerve signal processing chip determines that the collected electrical signal is a valid nerve signal, it triggers to enter the second mode state; in the second mode state, the nerve signal processing circuit is awakened and enters the working state. Correspondingly, the nerve signal processing chip can perform preset signal data processing on the collected electrical signals through the nerve 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. Correspondingly, the external device can receive the above-mentioned echo signal through the ultrasonic probe and extract the required multiple nerve signal information from the echo signal.

[0080] In this way, the working energy consumption during the operation of the implanted device can be effectively reduced; at the same time, the multiple nerve signal information collected by the implanted device can be accurately and reliably sent to the external device.

[0081] In some embodiments, refer to Figure 2 As shown, the external device may specifically 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.

[0082] Among them, the above computer device may specifically include a desktop computer, a server, a laptop computer, etc., or other electronic devices that support functions such as data operation and data storage.

[0083] The above data acquisition card may specifically be an integrated circuit board with RTL logic that supports 8-channel delayed transmission and synchronous reception, as well as 8-channel beamforming and envelope detection.

[0084] The above ultrasonic probe may specifically be an ultrasonic phased array transducer probe.

[0085] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 3 as shown, the external device performs ultrasonic positioning on the implanted device inside the target object through the ultrasonic probe to determine the position information of the implanted device; and according to the position information, it directionally emits ultrasonic signals to the implanted device. Specifically, in implementation, it may include the following contents:

[0086] S1: The external device controls the ultrasonic probe to perform ultrasonic scanning on the target object through the data acquisition card to generate a target ultrasonic image of the target object;

[0087] S2: The external device determines the position information of the implanted device through the computer device according to the target ultrasonic image;

[0088] S3: The external device determines a matching target emission angle through the computer device according to the position information of the implanted device;

[0089] S4: The external device controls the ultrasonic probe to directionally emit ultrasonic signals to the implanted device according to the target emission angle through the data acquisition card.

[0090] Based on the above embodiments, the external device can aim at the implanted device according to the target emission angle and accurately directionally emit ultrasonic signals to the implanted device to better supply energy to the implanted device.

[0091] In some embodiments, the above external device controls the ultrasonic probe to perform ultrasonic scanning on the target object through the data acquisition card to generate a target ultrasonic image of the target object. Specifically, in implementation, it may include the following steps:

[0092] S1; Determine multiple focal points for the target object and the focal point coordinates;

[0093] S2: Control the ultrasonic probe to sequentially emit focused ultrasonic waves to each of the multiple focal points and collect the corresponding ultrasonic signals;

[0094] S3: Perform ultrasonic imaging processing on the corresponding ultrasonic signals to obtain a qualified target ultrasonic image of the target object.

[0095] When specifically performing step S1, considering that the element pitch in the ultrasonic phased array transducer probe specifically used by the external device is 0.5 mm, the focal length can be set to 10 cm, 121 focal points can be set, and the focal point angle step is 0.5 degrees; correspondingly, the ultrasonic scanning angle can reach 60 degrees.

[0096] When specifically performing step S2, each element in the ultrasonic probe can be controlled to send ultrasonic signals for two cycles (the frequency can be 5 MHz) to each focal point as focused ultrasound according to the focal point coordinates. In this way, the signal-to-noise ratio of the subsequent collected ultrasonic echo signals can be improved. Then, for each focal point, after transmitting the ultrasonic signal, each element in the ultrasonic probe can be controlled to collect the corresponding ultrasonic echo signal. By combining the ultrasonic echo signals collected for each focal point, an 8-channel signal can be obtained as the corresponding ultrasonic signal.

[0097] When specifically performing step S3, the following steps can be included: S3-1, performing beam synthesis on the ultrasonic signal; S3-2, performing time gain control processing on the initial brightness matrix; S3-3, extracting the signal envelope from the first processed signal data; S3-4, performing downsampling processing on the second processed signal data; S3-5, obtaining the required target ultrasonic image through image interpolation according to the third processed signal data.

[0098] Among them, when specifically performing S3-1, the coordinates of each pixel point between the two-point connection can be determined first according to the focal point coordinates and the coordinates of the center point of the ultrasonic probe; according to the distance between the pixel point and the element in the ultrasonic probe and the ultrasonic beam, the sampling time of each element for each pixel point can be calculated; the phases of each element in the ultrasonic probe can be aligned according to the sampling time; and then, based on the elements with aligned phases, the 8-channel signal can be synthesized to obtain the initial brightness matrix for ultrasonic imaging.

[0099] When specifically performing S3-2, the trend of energy attenuation during signal propagation can be eliminated for the initial brightness matrix, and only the echo intensity generated by the acoustic impedance can be retained to obtain the first processed signal data.

[0100] When specifically performing S3-3, the ultrasonic signal with a central frequency of 5 MHz in the first processed signal data can be demodulated, and the signal envelope information can be used to reflect the echo intensity of the scatterer to obtain the second processed signal data.

[0101] When specifically performing S3-4, according to the demodulation frequency, the signal capacity of the second processed signal data can be reduced to reduce the burden on the hardware caused by large-capacity data transmission, and the third processed signal data (i.e., the downsampled brightness matrix) can be obtained.

[0102] When specifically performing S3-5, according to the third processed signal data, through image interpolation processing, an ultrasonic sector image can be obtained as the target ultrasonic image. For details, please refer to Figure 4 as shown.

[0103] In some embodiments, after obtaining the target ultrasonic image, the external device can perform pattern recognition on the target ultrasonic image through a computing device to determine the implanted device in the image; and then the position information of the implanted device based on the target object can be determined.

[0104] Furthermore, the external device can obtain the position information of the ultrasonic probe based on the target object; then, according to the position information of the ultrasonic probe based on the target object and the position information of the implanted device based on the target object, a matching target emission angle can be determined; and then, through the data acquisition card, the ultrasonic probe can be controlled to aim at the implanted device according to the target emission angle and emit ultrasonic signals directionally.

[0105] In some embodiments, when the external device is specifically implemented, it may further include the following:

[0106] S1: Monitor the intensity change data of the received echo signal; and according to the intensity change data of the echo signal, detect whether the position information of the implanted device has changed;

[0107] S2: When the external device detects that the position information of the implanted device has changed, according to the intensity change data of the echo signal, adjust the target emission angle to obtain an adjusted target emission angle;

[0108] S3: The external device controls the ultrasonic probe to emit ultrasonic signals directionally to the implanted device according to the adjusted target emission angle through the data acquisition card.

[0109] Specifically, considering that during the process of emitting ultrasonic signals directionally to the implanted device, the implanted device arranged inside the target object may move, resulting in the inability to continuously and accurately aim at the implanted device to emit ultrasonic signals.

[0110] Therefore, during the process of transmitting ultrasonic signals to the implanted device, the external device can also, through the data acquisition card and the ultrasonic probe, detect in real time whether the intensity change data of the echo signal returned by the implanted device 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 implanted device has not changed, or has only changed relatively slightly, and will not have an obvious 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 implanted device has changed, and this change is relatively large, which will have an obvious impact on the directional emission effect of the ultrasonic signal, and the emission angle needs to be adjusted.

[0111] After determining that the emission angle needs to be adjusted, the change data of the position information of the implanted device 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 implanted device and the position information change trend, so as to obtain a adjusted target emission angle that can match. Furthermore, based on the adjusted target emission angle, the implanted device can be continuously targeted and ultrasonic signals can be accurately transmitted to the implanted device.

[0112] In this way, the external device can track the actual position information of the implanted device in real time and adjust the emission angle in a timely manner according to the change of the position information of the implanted device, so as to continuously target the implanted device and transmit ultrasonic signals directionally.

[0113] In some embodiments, when the external device emits ultrasonic signals and / or receives echo signals through the ultrasonic probe, one or more of the following listed operation methods can also be used to further improve the signal accuracy during emission and / or reception and reduce the errors introduced by factors such as side lobes: perform beam direction, beam focusing, and beam synthesis operations on the emitted ultrasonic signals and / or the received echo signals; perform segmented dynamic apodization operations on the received echo signals; perform dynamic aperture adjustment operations when receiving echo signals; perform time gain wavelength operations; perform logarithmic compression and digital scan conversion operations, etc.

[0114] In some embodiments, when the external device is specifically implemented, it can also control the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo signal emitted by the implanted device through the data acquisition card; and demodulate multiple nerve signal information from the echo signal;

[0115] Furthermore, the external device also performs corresponding data processing according to multiple nerve signal information through a computer device.

[0116] Specifically, the external device can control the ultrasonic probe through a data acquisition card to receive the echo signal externally emitted by the implanted device; and through the data acquisition card, perform corresponding detection and demodulation processing (for example, digital quadrature demodulation) on the echo signal to extract multiple required nerve signal information.

[0117] Furthermore, the external device can use a corresponding algorithm model to process multiple nerve signal information through a computer device to analyze and determine the mapping relationship between the behavior of the target object and the nerve signal. Subsequently, based on this mapping relationship, the behavior of the target object can be predicted using the collected nerve signal information.

[0118] In some embodiments, after the implanted device receives the ultrasonic signal emitted by the external device through the ultrasonic transducer, the ultrasonic transducer can convert the received ultrasonic signal into electrical energy for the operation of the implanted device.

[0119] Specifically, in order to reduce the size of the implanted device, the implanted device itself may not be provided with a power module or an energy storage module. Usually, when no ultrasonic signal is received, the implanted device is in a shutdown state due to the lack of electrical energy required for operation. When an ultrasonic signal is received, the implanted device starts to operate and enters the first mode state due to obtaining the electrical energy converted by the ultrasonic transducer based on the ultrasonic signal.

[0120] In the first mode state, in order to reduce the working energy consumption of the implanted device, the nerve signal processing circuit is in a standby state and does not operate. However, there are still some components in the implanted device (such as a spike detector) in a working state. The implanted device can detect whether the electrical signal collected based on the first electrode and the second electrode is a valid nerve signal through the above-mentioned components in the working state. When it is detected that the collected electrical signal is a valid nerve signal, the implanted device will trigger and enter the second mode state.

[0121] In the second mode state, the nerve signal processing circuit will enter a working state. Correspondingly, the implanted device can use the nerve signal processing circuit to convert the collected electrical signal into corresponding multiple nerve signal information.

[0122] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 3 as shown, the nerve signal processing circuit may at least include devices such as an analog front end (for example, AFE), a clock signal generator (or clock generation circuit), an analog-to-digital converter (for example, LC-ADC), and a spike classification algorithm module;

[0123] Among them, the analog pre-stage can be a filter amplifier. Specifically, the above-mentioned analog pre-stage 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 sorting algorithm module and the clock signal generator respectively; the spike sorting algorithm module can also be electrically connected to the clock signal generator respectively. Among them, the spike sorting algorithm module is configured with a preset spike sorting algorithm.

[0124] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 3 as shown, the neural signal processing chip may further include a spike detector; among them, the spike detector can be electrically connected to the first electrode, the second electrode, the spike sorting algorithm module, the clock signal generator, and the analog-to-digital converter respectively. Among them, the spike detector is configured with a preset spike threshold.

[0125] Among them, the preset spike threshold can specifically be obtained by statistically sorting a large number of valid sample neural electrical signals in advance.

[0126] In some embodiments, the implant device performs spike detection on the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode to determine whether the collected electrical signals are neural signals. Specifically, in implementation, it may include the following content:

[0127] S1: The implant device performs spike detection on the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode through the spike detector to obtain corresponding spike detection results;

[0128] S2: According to the spike detection results, when it is determined that the potential difference between the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode is greater than the preset spike threshold, it is determined that the collected electrical signals are neural signals.

[0129] Based on the above embodiments, in the first mode state, the implant device can use the still working spike detector to detect the electrical signals collected by the electrodes to automatically and accurately determine whether the collected electrical signals are valid neural signals.

[0130] In some embodiments, when it is determined that the collected electrical signals are neural signals, it triggers to enter the second mode state. Specifically, in implementation, it may include the following content:

[0131] When it is determined that the collected electrical signals are neural signals, the implant device sends wake-up signals to the connected spike sorting algorithm module, clock signal generator, and analog-to-digital converter through the spike detector, so that the spike sorting algorithm module, clock signal generator, and analog-to-digital converter are started and enter the working state.

[0132] Specifically, when the spike detector is set to detect that the collected electrical signal is a valid neural signal, it can send a high-level signal to the spike classification algorithm module, the clock signal generator, and the analog-to-digital converter respectively as a wake-up signal. Correspondingly, the spike classification algorithm module, the clock signal generator, and the 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 implanted device automatically enters the second mode state.

[0133] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 5 As shown, the implanted device performs preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals through the neural signal processing circuit in the neural signal processing chip, and obtains a plurality of neural signal information that meets the requirements. Specifically, in implementation, it may include the following content:

[0134] S1: The implanted device filters and amplifies the neural signal through the analog front end to obtain the processed neural signal;

[0135] S2: The implanted device converts the processed neural signal into a corresponding digital signal through the analog-to-digital converter;

[0136] S3: The implanted device performs spike classification processing on the digital signal through the spike classification algorithm module based on a preset spike classification algorithm to obtain a corresponding spike classification result;

[0137] S4: The implanted device obtains the plurality of neural signal information according to the spike classification result.

[0138] Among them, the directly collected neural signal is a form of spectral data of a continuous analog signal, and its own data volume is relatively large, resulting in a heavy data transmission burden; at the same time, such analog signals are also prone to interference and large attenuation during transmission, resulting in poor signal quality finally received by the external device.

[0139] In view of the above problems existing in the analog signal, the present application considers that the analog signal can be converted into a discrete digital signal; and then based on the form of the digital signal, 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 the analog signal, the digital signal also has 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.

[0140] Specifically, in implementation, the analog front end can be used to first perform band-pass filtering processing on the neural signal to eliminate the noise information in the neural signal; then perform amplification processing on the filtered neural signal to obtain a relatively good processed neural signal.

[0141] In specific implementation, the clock signal generator may first generate a clock signal and send the clock signal to the spike sorting algorithm module to perform clock calibration on the spike sorting algorithm module, so as to more accurately implement spike sorting processing. In addition, the clock signal generator may also send a unified clock signal to devices such as an analog-to-digital converter and a pre-amplifier to achieve automatic calibration and improve the overall signal processing accuracy.

[0142] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 6 as shown, the above-mentioned spike sorting algorithm module performs spike sorting processing on the digital signal based on a preset spike sorting algorithm. In specific implementation, it may include the following:

[0143] S1: Detect and intercept the current spike signal from the current digital signal;

[0144] 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 nerve signal;

[0145] 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 cluster;

[0146] 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 cluster, determine the nerve signal type corresponding to the target spike cluster as the spike sorting result of the current digital signal.

[0147] Among them, the above-mentioned nerve signal type may specifically be the type of neuron cell that emits nerve signals. Specifically, the neuron cell types include: multipolar neurons, bipolar neurons, pseudounipolar neurons, etc. Of course, it should be noted that the above-listed nerve signal types are only illustrative. In specific implementation, the above-mentioned nerve signal types may also include other types. This specification does not limit this.

[0148] The above-mentioned feature distance may specifically be the Euclidean distance.

[0149] In specific implementation, the above-mentioned detecting and intercepting the current spike signal from the current digital signal may include: detecting the current digital signal to determine the position point of the peak potential; according to the position point of the peak potential, intercept the signal of a preset number of sampling points from the current digital signal as the current spike signal.

[0150] In specific implementation, when it is determined that the current spike signal belongs to the target spike cluster, the average waveform of the target spike cluster can be updated based on the current spike signal to update the cluster center of the target spike cluster.

[0151] Further, after updating the cluster center of the target spike cluster, it can be detected whether there is a feature distance between the updated target spike cluster and other preset spike clusters except the target spike cluster that is less than a preset merging distance threshold; in the case of determination, the preset spike cluster with a feature distance less than the preset merging distance threshold from the updated target spike cluster can be merged with the updated target spike cluster.

[0152] In specific implementation, when it is determined that there is no target spike cluster with a feature distance less than or equal to the preset distance threshold from the current spike signal, a preset spike cluster can be newly created; and the current spike signal can be determined as the cluster center of the preset spike cluster.

[0153] In the above manner, the spike classification processing of the current spike signal in the current digital signal can be completed. Furthermore, the above manner can be repeated to sequentially complete the spike classification processing for the next spike signal and the next digital signal to obtain corresponding spike classification results. In addition, during the spike classification processing, corresponding sorting processing can also be performed according to corresponding sorting rules to obtain a sorted spike classification result.

[0154] In specific implementation, before detecting and intercepting the current spike signal from the current digital signal, the digital signal can be filtered first.

[0155] Before specific implementation, based on a preset spike classification algorithm, multiple preset spike clusters can be obtained in the following manner:

[0156] S1: Obtain a test electrical signal regarding the target nerve region;

[0157] S2: Obtain a corresponding test digital signal according to the test electrical signal;

[0158] S3: Intercept multiple test spike signals from the test digital signal;

[0159] S4: Process the test spike signals to extract corresponding multiple test spike features; wherein, the data dimension of the test spike features is smaller than that of the test spike signals;

[0160] S5: Determine multiple preset spike clusters and the cluster centers of multiple preset spike clusters by performing clustering processing on the multiple test spike features.

[0161] Among them, the above test electrical signal can specifically be the electrical signal collected from the first electrode and the second electrode in the target nerve region during the test stage before specific implementation.

[0162] When specifically intercepting the test spike signal, the effective signal segment can be first divided from the digital signal according to a preset spike threshold; then the position points of the peak potentials in the effective signal segment are determined, and based on the position points of the peak potentials, a segment signal containing 100 sampling points is intercepted from the effective signal segment as the test spike signal.

[0163] When specifically processing the test spike signal to extract the test spike features, the features that can best represent the segment characteristics of the segment signal in the spike signal can be further selected as the test spike features. Specifically, for example, a pre-trained feature extraction network can be used to process the test spike signal to obtain the test spike features. By extracting the test spike features through the above extraction method, the originally 100-dimensional data can be reduced to 3 dimensions, realizing the dimensionality reduction processing of the signal data and effectively reducing the relevant data processing volume.

[0164] Finally, using the above spike features, clustering processing is performed with a relatively small amount of data processing to obtain multiple preset spike clusters. Specifically, for example, it can be referred to Figure 7 As shown, by performing clustering processing on the 3-dimensional spike features (the three components corresponding to the horizontal axis, vertical axis, and vertical axis respectively), 5 different preset spike clusters can be obtained, namely: spike cluster 1, spike cluster 2, spike cluster 3, spike cluster 4, and spike cluster 5.

[0165] Specifically, based on the waveform characteristics of the digital signal obtained from the nerve signal, the Spike Sorting algorithm can be specifically modified to obtain a preset spike classification algorithm. Based on the obtained preset spike classification algorithm, on the one hand, when extracting spike features from the spike signal, dimensionality reduction processing is specifically performed on the premise of retaining key features, effectively reducing the data processing volume of the spike classification algorithm module; on the other hand, only the cluster centers of the spike clusters are stored during the processing, and the complete spike data is not stored, effectively reducing the data storage volume of the spike classification algorithm module. By configuring and using the above preset spike classification algorithm, it can help reduce the working energy consumption during the operation of the spike classification algorithm module.

[0166] In some embodiments, the nerve signal information can specifically include the peak time of the nerve signal.

[0167] Based on the above embodiments, combined with specific application scenarios, the peak time of the nerve signal can be specifically selected as the required key information for collection to obtain the nerve signal information that meets the scenario requirements.

[0168] In some embodiments, the implant device transmits an echo signal carrying multiple neural signal information to an external device through an ultrasonic transducer. Specifically, the following may be included in implementation:

[0169] S1: The implant device, according to the neural signal information, based on different amplitude information and / or pulse width information, in a matching manner, adds the multiple neural signal information to the echo signal to obtain an echo signal carrying multiple neural signal information;

[0170] S2: The implant device externally transmits the echo signal through the ultrasonic transducer; correspondingly, the external device receives the echo signal through an ultrasonic probe.

[0171] Based on the above embodiments, different neural signal types can be distinguished, and different neural signal information can be added to the echo signal in a matching manner; then the above echo signal carrying multiple neural signal information is transmitted to the external device. In this way, the external device can detect and demodulate the received echo signal to extract multiple neural signal information corresponding to different neural signal types.

[0172] Specifically, for example, referring to Figure 3 As shown, in this implant device, an adjustment switch is also arranged in parallel with the ultrasonic transducer. Specifically in implementation, the implant device can distinguish different neural signal types according to the neural signal information, and by controlling the closing time length of the adjustment switch, adjust the different pulse width information of different neural signal information, so as to be able to add multiple different neural signal information corresponding to different neural signal types to the echo signal in a matching manner (for example, based on the PWM adjustment method). Correspondingly, the external device can identify multiple neural signal information corresponding to different neural signal types by distinguishing different pulse width information.

[0173] Specifically, for example, multiple different adjustment circuits can also be arranged in this implant device; where each adjustment circuit includes an adjustment switch and / or a combination of an adjustment switch and a corresponding impedance resistor. Correspondingly, specifically in implementation, the implant device can also distinguish different neural signal types according to the neural signal information, and by controlling the conduction of different adjustment circuits, adjust the amplitude information of the corresponding different neural signal information, so as to be able to add multiple different neural signal information corresponding to different neural signal types to the echo signal in a matching manner (for example, based on the ASK adjustment method). Correspondingly, the external device can identify multiple neural signal information corresponding to different neural signal types by distinguishing different amplitude information.

[0174] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 8As shown, the above-mentioned neural signal processing chip can also be provided with diodes. During specific implementation, the diodes can be used to provide overvoltage protection for the neural signal processing chip, so as to avoid damage to the device structure on the neural signal processing chip caused by suddenly excessive electrical energy.

[0175] The above-mentioned neural signal processing chip can also be provided with a rectifying circuit (for example, a rectifier). During specific implementation, the electrical energy directly converted by the ultrasonic transducer is alternating current. At this time, the rectifier can be used to further process the alternating current to obtain direct current suitable for subsequent device use.

[0176] The above-mentioned neural signal processing chip can also be provided with a capacitor (for example, C L ). During 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 in temporary energy storage when necessary.

[0177] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned analog front-end can specifically be a transistor (for example, a CMOS transistor) analog front-end. During specific implementation, the analog front-end can be set to operate in the subthreshold region. Different from operating in the saturation region, operating in the subthreshold region can obtain a relatively better gain energy efficiency ratio, thereby further reducing the overall working power consumption of the implant device.

[0178] In some embodiments, during specific implementation, when the external device performs ultrasonic positioning on the implant device 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 implant device 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.

[0179] When the external device directionally emits ultrasonic signals to the implant device 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 implant device 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.

[0180] In addition, when the implant device 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 implant device disposed inside the target object is accidentally triggered due to receiving ultrasonic waves emitted by other devices.

[0181] In some embodiments, the neural signal processing chip further includes a stimulation functional circuit. Specifically, the above-mentioned stimulation functional circuit and the neural signal processing circuit are arranged in parallel in the neural signal processing chip. Among them, the stimulation functional circuit is connected to the target neural region.

[0182] During specific implementation, the implant device can apply a stimulation signal (an electrical signal) in the target neural region through the stimulation functional circuit to actively stimulate neurons in the target neural region to generate neural signals.

[0183] At the same time, the implant device can also detect whether there are effective neural signals in the target neural region through a spike detector. When effective neural signals appear in the target neural region, the neural signals are collected through the first electrode and the second electrode; then, preset signal data processing is performed through the neural signal processing circuit to obtain corresponding multiple neural signal information; and then the echo signal carrying the multiple neural signal information is provided to an external device for further processing.

[0184] Specifically, the external device can also add a third indication signal for characterizing a stimulation instruction to the ultrasonic signal directionally emitted to the implant device. Correspondingly, when the implant device detects the presence of the third indication signal in the ultrasonic signal, it triggers the application of a stimulation signal in the target neural region through the stimulation functional circuit.

[0185] In this way, the above-mentioned implantable neural signal acquisition system can be used to simultaneously implement stimulation application and neural signal acquisition, so as to meet relatively more complex and diverse scenario requirements.

[0186] As can be seen from the above, the implantable neural signal acquisition system provided by the embodiments of this specification at least includes an external device disposed outside the target object and an implant device disposed inside the target object. Among them, the external device at least includes an ultrasonic probe; the implant device at least includes an ultrasonic transducer and a neural signal processing chip; the neural signal processing chip at least includes a neural signal processing circuit; the neural signal processing circuit is connected to a first electrode and a second electrode disposed in the target neural region of the target object; the neural signal processing circuit is configured to be in a standby state when no valid neural signal is detected and in a working state when a valid neural signal is detected; when in the working state, the neural signal processing circuit is used to perform preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals to obtain a plurality of neural signal information that meets the requirements. Based on this implantable neural signal acquisition system, in specific implementation, the target object can be ultrasonically positioned by the external device first to determine the position information of the implant device; then, according to this position information, the implant device can be aimed at and ultrasonic signals can be directionally emitted. After receiving the ultrasonic signals, the implant device can convert the ultrasonic signals into electrical energy for the operation of the implant device; and trigger to enter the first mode state; in the first mode state, the neural signal processing circuit is in a standby state to reduce the working energy consumption. The implant device triggers to enter the second mode state only when it is determined through spike detection that the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode are valid neural signals, so that the neural signal processing circuit enters the working state. In the second mode state, the implant device performs preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals through the neural signal processing circuit to obtain a plurality of neural signal information corresponding to a variety of different types of neural signals that meet the requirements; then, the echo signals carrying the above-mentioned plurality of neural signal information are transmitted to the external device.

[0187] Therefore, based on the implantable neural signal acquisition system, the working energy consumption of the implant device can be effectively reduced, and the external device can also finely collect a plurality of neural signal information respectively corresponding to a variety of different types of neural signals, so as to better meet the diverse and complex scenario requirements. In addition, the external device can also perform real-time tracking on the implant device based on the position information of the target object and timely adjust the emission angle to accurately emit ultrasonic signals aiming at the implant device. Moreover, through preset signal data processing on the neural signals, the neural signal information is obtained and used to replace the complete neural signals for transmission, so that while further reducing the working energy consumption of the implant device, the error interference and signal attenuation during the transmission process can be effectively reduced, and the external device can receive higher-precision signal data.

[0188] Refer to Figure 9As shown, this specification also provides a neural signal acquisition method based on an implantable neural signal acquisition system. Specifically, when implemented, it may include the following:

[0189] S901: Control the ultrasonic probe of the external device to perform ultrasonic positioning on the implant device inside the target object to determine the position information of the implant device;

[0190] S902: According to the position information of the implant device, control the ultrasonic probe of the external device to directionally transmit ultrasonic signals to the implant device;

[0191] S903: Control the ultrasonic transducer of the implant device to convert the received ultrasonic signals into electrical energy for the operation of the implant device; and control the implant device to enter the first mode state;

[0192] S904: In the first mode state, control the spike detector of the implant device to perform spike detection on the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode to determine whether the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode are neural signals;

[0193] S905: When it is determined that the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode are neural signals, control the implant device to enter the second mode state; and in the second mode state, control the neural signal processing circuit of the implant device to perform preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals to obtain multiple neural signal information that meets the requirements;

[0194] S906: Control the ultrasonic transducer of the implant device to transmit the echo signals carrying multiple neural signal information to the external device;

[0195] S907: Control the ultrasonic probe of the external device to receive the echo signals and extract multiple neural signal information from the echo signals.

[0196] Based on the above embodiments, an implantable neural signal acquisition system can be used to aim at the implant device and accurately transmit ultrasonic signals to the implant device to achieve power supply for the implant device; at the same time, the implantable neural signal acquisition system can also be used to enable the implant device to collect and transmit multiple neural signal information corresponding to various different neural signal types with relatively low operating energy consumption, so as to better meet the diverse and complex scenario requirements.

[0197] An embodiment of this specification also provides a server, including a processor and a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor. When specifically implemented, the processor may execute the following steps according to the instructions: controlling an ultrasonic probe of an external device to perform ultrasonic positioning on an implant device inside a target object to determine the position information of the implant device; according to the position information of the implant device, controlling the ultrasonic probe of the external device to emit ultrasonic signals in a directed manner towards the implant device; controlling an ultrasonic transducer of the implant device to convert the received ultrasonic signals into electrical energy for the operation of the implant device; and controlling the implant device to enter a first mode state; in the first mode state, controlling a spike detector of the implant device to perform spike detection on the electrical signals collected by a first electrode and a second electrode to determine whether the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode are nerve signals; in the case where it is determined that the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode are nerve signals, controlling the implant device to enter a second mode state; and in the second mode state, controlling a nerve signal processing circuit of the implant device to perform preset signal data processing on the collected nerve signals to obtain a plurality of nerve signal information that meets the requirements; controlling the ultrasonic transducer of the implant device to transmit an echo signal carrying the plurality of nerve signal information to the external device; controlling the ultrasonic probe of the external device to receive the echo signal and extract the plurality of nerve signal information from the echo signal.

[0198] An embodiment of this specification also provides a computer-readable storage medium based on the above-mentioned nerve signal acquisition method. 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 probe of an external device to perform ultrasonic positioning on an implant device inside a target object to determine the position information of the implant device; according to the position information of the implant device, controlling the ultrasonic probe of the external device to emit ultrasonic signals in a directed manner towards the implant device; controlling an ultrasonic transducer of the implant device to convert the received ultrasonic signals into electrical energy for the operation of the implant device; and controlling the implant device to enter a first mode state; in the first mode state, controlling a spike detector of the implant device to perform spike detection on the electrical signals collected by a first electrode and a second electrode to determine whether the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode are nerve signals; in the case where it is determined that the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode are nerve signals, controlling the implant device to enter a second mode state; and in the second mode state, controlling a nerve signal processing circuit of the implant device to perform preset signal data processing on the collected nerve signals to obtain a plurality of nerve signal information that meets the requirements; controlling the ultrasonic transducer of the implant device to transmit an echo signal carrying the plurality of nerve signal information to the external device; controlling the ultrasonic probe of the external device to receive the echo signal and extract the plurality of nerve signal information from the echo signal.

[0199] In this embodiment, the above storage medium includes, but is not limited to, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Cache, Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or 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.

[0200] 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.

[0201] Refer to Figure 10 As shown, at the software level, an embodiment of this specification further provides a neural signal acquisition device, which specifically may include the following structural modules:

[0202] The positioning module 1001 can specifically be used to control the ultrasonic probe of the external device to perform ultrasonic positioning on the implanted device inside the target object to determine the position information of the implanted device;

[0203] The transmitting module 1002 can specifically be used to control the ultrasonic probe of the external device to directionally transmit ultrasonic signals to the implanted device according to the position information of the implanted device;

[0204] The first control module 1003 can specifically be used to control the ultrasonic transducer of the implanted device to convert the received ultrasonic signals into electrical energy for the operation of the implanted device; and control the implanted device to enter the first mode state;

[0205] The second control module 1004 can specifically be used to, in the first mode state, control the spike detector of the implanted device to perform spike detection on the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode to determine whether the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode are neural signals;

[0206] The third control module 1005 can specifically be used to, when it is determined that the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode are neural signals, control the implanted device to enter the second mode state; and in the second mode state, control the neural signal processing circuit of the implanted device to perform preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals to obtain multiple neural signal information that meets the requirements;

[0207] The fourth control module 1006 can specifically be used to control the ultrasonic transducer of the implanted device to transmit the echo signals carrying multiple neural signal information to the external device;

[0208] The extraction module 1007 can be specifically used to control the ultrasonic probe of an external device to receive echo signals and extract multiple neural signal information from the echo signals.

[0209] It should be noted that the units, devices, modules, etc. illustrated in the above embodiments can be specifically implemented by computer chips or entities, or by products with certain functions. For the convenience of description, the above devices are described by dividing them into various modules according to functions. 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 only 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 couplings or direct couplings or communication connections to each other can be through some interfaces, and the indirect couplings or communication connections of the devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0210] As can be seen from the above, based on the neural signal acquisition device provided in the embodiments of this specification, it can effectively reduce the working energy consumption of the implanted device, and can also enable the external device to finely collect multiple neural signal information respectively corresponding to multiple different types of neural signals, so as to better meet the diverse and complex scenario requirements.

[0211] 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 step sequences listed in the embodiments are only one way among the execution sequences of numerous steps and do not represent the only execution sequence. When the actual device or client product is executed, it can be executed in the method sequence shown in the embodiments or the drawings or in parallel (for example, in a parallel processor or multi-threaded processing environment, or even in a distributed data processing environment). The term "comprising", "including" or any other variant thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, product or device including a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, product or device. Without further limitation, it does not exclude the existence of additional identical or equivalent elements in the process, method, product or device including the said elements. The words such as first and second are used to represent names and do not represent any specific order.

[0212] Those skilled in the art also know that, in addition to implementing the controller in the form of pure computer-readable program code, the method steps can be logically programmed to enable the controller to implement the same functions in the form of logic gates, switches, application-specific integrated circuits, programmable logic controllers, embedded microcontrollers, etc. Therefore, such a controller can be regarded as 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 structures within the hardware component.

[0213] This specification can 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 can 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 can be located in local and remote computer-readable storage media including storage devices.

[0214] 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 disc, 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.

[0215] 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. Each embodiment focuses on 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 devices 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, etc.

[0216] 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 neural signal acquisition system, characterized in that, At least including: an external device and an implanted device; wherein, the implanted device is disposed inside the target object; the external device is disposed outside the target object; the external device at least includes an ultrasonic probe; the implanted device at least includes an ultrasonic transducer and a neural signal processing chip; the neural signal processing chip at least contains a neural signal processing circuit; the neural signal processing circuit is connected with a first electrode and a second electrode; the first electrode and the second electrode are used for collecting the electrical signals in the target neural region of the target object; The external device performs ultrasonic positioning on the implanted device inside the target object through the ultrasonic probe to determine the position information of the implanted device; and according to the position information of the implanted device, directionally emits an ultrasonic signal to the implanted device; When the implanted device receives the ultrasonic signal through the ultrasonic transducer, it converts the ultrasonic signal into electrical energy for the operation of the implanted device; and triggers 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 implanted device performs spike detection on the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode to determine whether the collected electrical signals are neural signals; and when it is determined that the collected electrical signals are neural signals, 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 implanted device performs preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals through the neural signal processing circuit 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 implanted device sends the echo signal carrying a plurality of neural signal information to the external device through the ultrasonic transducer.

2. The implantable neural signal acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein The external device further includes: 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.

3. The implantable neural signal acquisition system according to claim 2, wherein The external device performs ultrasonic positioning on the implanted device inside the target object through the ultrasonic probe to determine the position information of the implanted device; and according to the position information, directionally emits an ultrasonic signal to the implanted device, including: The external device controls the ultrasonic probe to perform ultrasonic scanning on the target object through the data acquisition card to generate a target ultrasonic image of the target object; The external device determines the position information of the implanted device through the computer device according to the target ultrasonic image; The external device determines a matching target emission angle through the computer device according to the position information of the implanted device; The external device controls the ultrasonic probe to directionally emit an ultrasonic signal to the implanted device according to the target emission angle through the data acquisition card.

4. The implantable neural signal acquisition system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The external device also controls the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo signal emitted by the implanted device through the data acquisition card; and demodulates a plurality of neural signal information from the echo signal; The external device also performs corresponding data processing according to the plurality of neural signal information through the computer device.

5. The implantable neural signal acquisition system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The external device also monitors the intensity change data of the received echo signal; and detects whether the position information of the implanted device has changed according to the intensity change data of the echo signal; When the external device detects that the position information of the implanted device has changed, it adjusts the target emission angle according to the intensity change data of the echo signal to obtain the adjusted target emission angle; The external device controls the ultrasonic probe to emit ultrasonic signals to the implanted device in a directional manner according to the adjusted target emission angle through a data acquisition card.

6. The implantable neural signal acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein The neural signal processing circuit at least includes: an analog front end, a clock signal generator, an analog-to-digital converter, and a spike sorting algorithm module; Among them, the analog front end is electrically connected to the first electrode, the second electrode, and the analog-to-digital converter respectively; the analog-to-digital converter is also electrically connected to the spike sorting algorithm module.

7. The implantable neural signal acquisition system according to claim 6, wherein The neural signal processing chip further includes a spike detector; wherein, the spike detector is electrically connected to the first electrode, the second electrode, the spike sorting algorithm module, the clock signal generator, and the analog-to-digital converter.

8. The implantable neural signal acquisition system according to claim 7, wherein, The implanted device determines whether the collected electrical signal is a neural signal by performing spike detection on the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode, including: The implanted device performs spike detection on the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode through the spike detector to obtain corresponding spike detection results; According to the spike detection results, when it is determined that the potential difference between the electrical signals collected by the first electrode and the second electrode is greater than a preset spike threshold, it is determined that the collected electrical signal is a neural signal.

9. The implantable neural signal acquisition system according to claim 8, wherein, When it is determined that the collected electrical signal is a neural signal, it triggers to enter the second mode state, including: When it is determined that the collected electrical signal is a neural signal, the implanted device sends wake-up signals to the connected spike sorting algorithm module, clock signal generator, and analog-to-digital converter respectively through the spike detector, so that the spike sorting algorithm module, clock signal generator, and analog-to-digital converter are started and enter the working state.

10. The implantable neural signal acquisition system according to claim 6, wherein The implanted device performs preset signal data processing on the collected neural signals through the neural signal processing circuit in the neural signal processing chip to obtain multiple pieces of neural signal information that meet the requirements, including: The implanted device performs filtering and amplification processing on the neural signals through the analog front end to obtain processed neural signals; The implanted device converts the processed neural signals into corresponding digital signals through the analog-to-digital converter; The implanted device performs spike sorting processing on the digital signals through the spike sorting algorithm module based on a preset spike sorting algorithm to obtain corresponding spike sorting results; The implanted device obtains the multiple pieces of neural signal information according to the spike sorting results.

11. The implantable neural signal acquisition system according to claim 10, wherein The neural signal information includes the peak time of the neuron action potential.

12. The implantable neural signal acquisition system according to claim 6, wherein The implanted device sends the echo signal carrying multiple pieces of neural signal information to the external device through the ultrasonic transducer, including: The implant device adds the multiple nerve signal information to the echo signal in a matching manner according to the nerve signal information, based on different pulse width information and / or pulse width information, to obtain an echo signal carrying multiple nerve signal information; The implant device externally transmits the echo signal through an ultrasonic transducer; correspondingly, the external device receives the echo signal through an ultrasonic probe.

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