Device for brain-computer interface
By using a combination of cranial window surround module, base and flexible circuit board in the brain-computer interface device, combined with the mechanical force of dental cement and skull nails, the gate-type structural support leads are designed to solve the fracture of cranial nail leads and the instability of the device. The problem has achieved a safer, more stable and convenient brain-computer interface experiment.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202420054247.0
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-01-09
- Publication Date
- 2024-12-24
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-01-09
AI Technical Summary
The existing brain-computer interface device is prone to fracture in the cranial window fixation of the middle skull nail leads, lack mechanical protection, inconvenient leads and easy to damage, resulting in difficulty in signal acquisition and poor experimental operability.
A device including a cranial window surround module, base, component fixing part and flexible circuit board is designed. Through the mechanical force fixing device of dental cement and skull nails, a gate structure is arranged to support the flexible circuit board and skull nail leads, and the When data is not collected, caps are used to enclose the equipment to protect the equipment.
It effectively avoids the problem of the inability to reconnect after the skull nail lead is broken, improves the stability and firmness of the device, enhances the protection of the circuit, simplifies experimental operations, and improves the safety and convenience of the experiment.
Smart Images
Figure CN222217843U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model relates to the field of brain-computer interface, and in particular to a device for brain-computer interface. Background Art
[0002] In the brain-computer interface technology chain, brain-computer electrodes contact the cerebral cortex or brain substance to transmit EEG signals to the back-end electrophysiological signal acquisition system, laying the necessary foundation for subsequent data analysis, decoding, and control of external devices. In order to further improve the brain-computer interface technology chain, under the conditions of meeting the ethical requirements of experimental animals, experimenters need to use mice, rats, rabbits, monkeys, etc. to conduct chronic brain-computer interface experiments. The experiment requires opening a window in the animal's skull, and laying the front end (sensing end) of the brain-computer electrode (also called "electrode") on the surface of the brain substance or inserting it into the brain substance according to the experimental requirements.
[0003] After completing the above operations, in order to meet the needs of chronic and long-term EEG signal recording, the following points need to be noted: (1) Further fix the sensing end of the electrode and lead out the rear end (lead) of the electrode separately to facilitate the connection of the lead to the acquisition system; (2) Since the animal will gradually regain its ability to move after the cranial window surgery and produce behaviors such as self-destruction of the postoperative wound and electrode equipment, specific equipment is required to protect the cranial window, electrodes and other equipment after the operation, and it can be firmly fixed around the cranial window; (3) The EEG signals collected by the electrophysiological signal acquisition system are mostly differential signals between the sensing end signal of the electrode and the signal of the skull nail on the skull. The skull nail lead needs to be used as a reference lead and led out together with the electrode lead.
[0004] The prior art uses dental cement to fix the brain-computer interface device on the cranial window and seal the sensing end of the electrode and a portion of the leads of the skull pin. Since the leads of the skull pin are generally thinner metal leads, they are easy to break during subsequent experiments. The position of the lead connecting to the skull pin is sealed by a large area of dental cement and cannot be led out from the skull pin again, so that the differential signal between the electrode sensing end and the skull pin lead cannot be normally input to the acquisition system.
[0005] In addition, in the existing technology, the solution that is most compatible with the brain-computer interface animal experiment scenario only uses dental cement to fix the brain-computer interface device, and lacks additional mechanical force to protect the brain-computer equipment / device from the impact of animal behavior.
[0006] In addition, in the prior art, no specific structure is designed to fix the electrode leads. In the prior art, most of the electrode leads are randomly bent and placed in the brain-computer interface device, which is inconvenient to remove the leads and connect them to the acquisition system for electrophysiological signal acquisition experiments. In addition, in certain specific cases, the electrode leads are easily damaged. Utility Model Content
[0007] In order to effectively solve the related technical problems, the utility model provides a device for brain-computer interface, characterized in that the device may include: a first component, which includes: a base, which is configured to contact the skull of a biological body; a component fixing portion, which extends perpendicular to the base and defines a first space; a cranial window surrounding module, which is located in the first space and surrounds the cranial window to define a second space located above the cranial window; and a second component, which is attached to the first component and includes a grid structure for fixing a flexible circuit board, wherein an electrode is arranged in the cranial window, and the flexible circuit board is connected to the electrode through the second space, and wherein at least one cranial pin is arranged in a portion of the remaining space of the first space that does not include the second space, and the at least one cranial pin is fixed to the skull of the biological body, and the lead of the at least one cranial pin is connected to the flexible circuit board.
[0008] The cranial window surrounding module may have any shape in a horizontal cross section that can contact the inner wall of the component fixing portion.
[0009] The cranial window surrounding module may have a rectangular shape or an elliptical shape in a horizontal cross-section.
[0010] Dental cement may be injected into another portion of the remaining space to bond the component fixing portion and the cranial window surrounding module to the skull.
[0011] A first thread may be provided on an outer wall of the component fixing portion and a second thread may be provided on an inner wall of one end of the second component, so that the second component is attached to the first component by means of cooperation between the first thread and the second thread.
[0012] At least one first screw hole may be provided along a circumferential direction of an edge of the base, and the base may be fixed to the skull by inserting at least one first screw passing through the at least one first screw hole.
[0013] The device may further include: a third component disposed above the second component and attached to the first component to cover and shield the first component and the second component.
[0014] The third component may also include a third component edge that matches the shape of the base, wherein the third component edge is circumferentially provided with at least one second screw hole, and at least one third screw hole is also circumferentially provided along the edge of the base, and the base and the third component are fixed to the skull by passing at least one second screw through the at least one second screw hole and the at least one third screw hole.
[0015] The first screw and the second screw may be cranial pins.
[0016] The grid structure may include at least one grid bracket, and the grid structure is also used to fix the lead wire of the skull pin.
[0017] The utility model can effectively avoid the problem of being unable to reconnect after the lead wire is broken, improve the overall stability and firmness of the device, and improve the degree of protection for the line.
[0018] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the utility model. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the utility model, it can be implemented in accordance with the contents of the specification. In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the utility model more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the utility model are listed below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] By reading the detailed description below with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention will become readily understood. In the accompanying drawings, several embodiments of the present invention are shown in an exemplary and non-limiting manner, wherein:
[0020] In the drawings, the same or corresponding reference numerals represent the same or corresponding parts.
[0021] Figure 1 A top view of three components according to the present invention is shown.
[0022] Figure 2 A perspective view of a first assembly is shown.
[0023] Figure 3 A perspective view of attaching the second component to the first component is shown.
[0024] Figure 4 A perspective view of attaching the third component to the first component is shown.
[0025] Reference numerals list
[0026] 100 First Component
[0027] 101 Cranial window enclosure module
[0028] 102 Smaller Space
[0029] 103 Larger Space
[0030] 104 External thread
[0031] 105 First screw hole
[0032] 106 Second screw hole
[0033] 107 Base
[0034] 108 Component fixing part
[0035] 200 Second component
[0036] 201 Bracket
[0037] 204 Internal thread
[0038] 300 Third Component
[0039] 306 Third screw hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0040] The principle and spirit of the present invention will be described below with reference to several exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided only to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and implement the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to make the present disclosure more thorough and complete, and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.
[0041] In the present application, it should be understood that terms such as “including” or “having” are intended to indicate the presence of features, numbers, steps, behaviors, components, parts, or a combination thereof disclosed in the present specification, and do not exclude the possibility of the presence of one or more other features, numbers, steps, behaviors, components, parts, or a combination thereof.
[0042] It should also be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other. The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with the embodiments.
[0043] The specific implementation of the utility model is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0044] Figure 1 A top view of three components according to the present invention is shown. Figure 2 A perspective view of a first assembly is shown.
[0045] like Figure 1 and 2 As shown, the first component 100 includes a cranial window enclosing module 101, a base 107, and a component fixing portion 108. The base 107 is configured to contact the skull of the organism. The component fixing portion 108 extends perpendicular to the base and defines a first space. In some embodiments, the base 107 is configured to be in a ring shape, the component fixing portion 108 forms a hollow cylinder, and the first space is located in the component fixing portion 108.
[0046] The cranial window enclosing module 101 is located in the first space and encloses the cranial window to define a second space located above the cranial window. In some embodiments, the area defined by the cranial window enclosing module 101 on the skull is slightly larger than the area of the cranial window. In some embodiments, the cranial window enclosing module 101 has any shape in a horizontal cross section that can contact the inner wall of the component fixing portion, for example, a rectangular shape or an elliptical shape.
[0047] The cranial window enclosing module 101 can be formed to contact the inner wall of the component fixing portion 108, so that the entire first component can be formed in one piece. Therefore, at least two spaces can be divided in the space outside the second space and within the first space (that is, in the remaining space of the first space that does not include the second space). For example, in the case where the cranial window enclosing module 101 has a rectangular shape in a horizontal cross-section, the outer wall of the cranial window enclosing module 101 and the inner wall of the component fixing portion 108 can define two smaller spaces 102 opposite to each other and two larger spaces 103 opposite to each other relative to the cranial window enclosing module 101.
[0048] In some embodiments, dental cement may be injected into the two spaces 102 to bond the skull below the spaces 102 to the walls forming the spaces 102 , that is, the cranial window surrounding module 101 , the component fixing portion 108 and the skull are bonded and fixed by dental cement.
[0049] In some embodiments, the two larger spaces 103 can be used to place skull pins fixed to the skull. The leads from the skull pins can be used as signal reference leads relative to the leads of electrodes (for example, arranged on a flexible circuit board). For example, the signal obtained from the leads of the skull pins can be used as a reference ground signal. In order to prevent the leads of a single skull pin from being damaged during subsequent experiments, multiple skull pins can be implanted and multiple leads corresponding thereto can be set. Multiple leads from multiple skull pins can be twisted into a strand. Since the skull pin has a strong mechanical force when joined to the skull, there is no need to inject dental cement into the space 103, which makes it more convenient to deal with the situation of skull pin lead breakage during the later experimental process without dental cement.
[0050] An external thread 104 is provided on the outer wall of the component fixing portion 108 , and the external thread 104 is used to easily assemble the second component 200 with the first component 100 .
[0051] The first screw holes 105 are disposed on the base 107 of the first component 100 and are distributed circumferentially around the base 107. The base 107 can be fixed to the skull by passing the screws through the first screw holes 105. In some embodiments, four first screw holes 105 can be provided. Therefore, a more solid fixing structure can be formed by the mechanical force between the screws, the screw holes and the skull and the bonding force of the dental cement.
[0052] The second screw holes 106 are disposed on the base 107 of the first component 100 and are distributed circumferentially around the base 107. The first screw holes 105 and the second screw holes 106 may be alternately arranged on the base 107. The second screw holes 106 are screw holes for combining the first component 100 with the third component 300.
[0053] Figure 3 A perspective view of attaching the second component to the first component is shown.
[0054] The second component 200 includes a plurality of brackets 201 for fixing the flexible circuit board, and the plurality of brackets can form a grid structure. In addition, the leads of the skull pins can also be fixed / lapped on the grid structure.
[0055] The electrode is arranged in the cranial window. The lead wire of the electrode and the electrode interface can be arranged together on the flexible circuit board. The lead wire of the electrode can pass through the second space to be connected to the electrode interface. In other words, the flexible circuit board can pass through the second space to be connected to the electrode. The lead wire of the skull pin can also be connected to the flexible circuit board. The flexible circuit board can be connected to an electrophysiological signal acquisition system for subsequent electrophysiological signal acquisition experiments. In some embodiments, the flexible circuit board can be in the form of an elongated flexible circuit board. In some embodiments, the flexible circuit board can be snapped into the hole of the grid structure for preliminary fixation, and if necessary, the flexible circuit board can be further fixed by means of the cooperation of tape and the grid structure.
[0056] The internal thread 204 is an internal thread located on the inner wall of the second component 200 , and the internal thread 204 is used to cooperate and fix with the external thread 104 of the first component 100 .
[0057] Figure 4 A perspective view of attaching the third component to the first component is shown.
[0058] The third component 300 has a cap-like structure. The third component 300 includes an edge that matches the base 107 of the first component 100 in shape. A plurality of third screw holes 306 are arranged circumferentially on the edge. When the third component 300 is to be attached to the first component 100, the screws are fixed to the skull through the third screw holes 306 and the second screw holes 106. Therefore, the third component 300 is firmly fixed to the first component.
[0059] The third component 300 is a component that seals the brain-computer electrodes, leads, and electrode interfaces. When the animal recovers its ability to move after undergoing brain-computer interface surgery and does not need to collect EEG data, the third component is used to seal the first component and the second component to prevent the animal itself and the animals in the same cage from biting or hitting the circuit components such as the electrodes, leads, and electrode interfaces, causing damage. When it is necessary to collect data on electrophysiological signals, the screws in the third screw hole 306 can be removed to remove the third component 300.
[0060] The device for brain-computer interface according to the utility model aims to solve the following problems existing in the prior art: the lead wire of the cranial pin cannot be reconnected after being broken, the device is difficult to protect against animal collision and biting, and the lead wire is placed in a disorderly manner.
[0061] First, since the leads of the electrodes are arranged on a flexible circuit board, the strength of the leads can be enhanced to avoid breakage. In addition, the leads of the flexible circuit board and the skull pins can be placed in different areas / spaces. The flexible circuit board can be placed in and pass through the second space. In addition, two spaces with different areas in the cross section are provided, one of which is used to place multiple skull pins and their leads to give full play to the mechanical force between the skull pins and the skull, and the other space is used to inject dental cement. During the brain-computer interface experiment, if the lead of a single skull pin breaks, it can be easily re-wired from one space, which improves the operability of the experiment. Therefore, the device places the leads of the flexible circuit board and the skull pins separately through clever partitioning, thereby effectively avoiding the trouble of being unable to reconnect after the leads of the skull pins break.
[0062] Secondly, in order to enhance the stability of the device, the utility model adopts an innovative fixation scheme. After the device is sealed and initially fixed with dental cement, multiple permanent skull pins are provided on the contact surface between the device and the skull to further fix the device. When EEG data is not collected, the cap is firmly fixed on the top of the device by closing the cap-like structure of the device and activating multiple additional skull pins, thereby improving the overall firmness and stability of the device.
[0063] Finally, the utility model proposes a grid-shaped structure design to solve the problem of inconvenient placement and easy damage of the leads in the prior art. This structure can flexibly support and place the leads of the flexible circuit board and the skull pins, and can be used with tape to facilitate the subsequent connection of the acquisition system for electrophysiological signal acquisition experiments. This design greatly improves the operability of the experiment and improves the degree of protection of the circuit.
[0064] In general, the utility model provides a brain-computer interface device with innovative designs that comprehensively consider circuit zoning processing, coordinated fixation of dental cement and mechanical force, and circuit support of a grid-shaped structure, which provides a safer, more stable, and more convenient solution for brain-computer interface animal experiments.
[0065] Although the spirit and principle of the present invention have been described with reference to several specific embodiments, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the disclosed specific embodiments, and the division of various aspects does not mean that the features in these aspects cannot be combined to benefit, and such division is only for the convenience of expression. The present invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included in the spirit and scope of the attached claims.
Claims
1. A device for brain-computer interface, characterized in that: The device comprises: A first component comprising: a base configured to contact a skull of the organism, a component fixing portion extending perpendicularly to the base and defining a first space, a cranial window surrounding module, which is located in the first space and surrounds the cranial window to define a second space located above the cranial window, and a second component attached to the first component and comprising a grid-type structure for fixing a flexible circuit board, wherein the electrode is arranged in the cranial window, the flexible circuit board passes through the second space and is connected to the electrode, and At least one skull pin is arranged in a portion of the remaining space of the first space that does not include the second space, the at least one skull pin is fixed to the skull of the organism, and a lead of the at least one skull pin is connected to the flexible circuit board.
2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The cranial window surrounding module has any shape in a horizontal cross section that can contact the inner wall of the component fixing part.
3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The cranial window surrounding module has a rectangular shape or an elliptical shape in a horizontal cross section.
4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that Dental cement is injected into another part of the remaining space to bond the component fixing portion and the cranial window surrounding module to the skull.
5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that A first thread is provided on the outer wall of the component fixing portion and a second thread is provided on the inner wall of one end of the second component, so that the second component is attached to the first component by means of cooperation between the first thread and the second thread.
6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that At least one first screw hole is arranged along the circumference of the edge of the base, and the base is fixed to the skull by inserting at least one first screw passing through the at least one first screw hole.
7. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The device also includes: A third component is disposed above the second component and attached to the first component to cover and shield the first component and the second component.
8. The device according to claim 7, characterized in that The third component also includes a third component edge that matches the shape of the base, wherein the third component edge is circumferentially provided with at least one second screw hole, and at least one third screw hole is also circumferentially provided along the edge of the base, and the base and the third component are fixed to the skull by at least one second screw passing through the at least one second screw hole and the at least one third screw hole.
9. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that The first screw is a cranial pin.
10. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that The second screw is a cranial pin.
11. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The grid structure includes at least one grid bracket, and the grid structure is also used to fix the lead wire of the skull pin.