1441 results about "Microelectrode" patented technology

One or more highly-oriented, multi-walled carbon nanotubes are grown on an outer surface of a substrate initially disposed with a catalyst film or catalyst nano-dot by plasma enhanced hot filament chemical vapor deposition of a carbon source gas and a catalyst gas at temperatures between 300° C. and 3000° C. The carbon nanotubes range from 4 to 500 nm in diameter and 0.1 to 50 μm in length depending on growth conditions. Carbon nanotube density can exceed 104 nanotubes / mm2. Acetylene is used as the carbon source gas, and ammonia is used as the catalyst gas. Plasma intensity, carbon source gas to catalyst gas ratio and their flow rates, catalyst film thickness, and temperature of chemical vapor deposition affect the lengths, diameters, density, and uniformity of the carbon nanotubes. The carbon nanotubes of the present invention are useful in electrochemical applications as well as in electron emission, structural composite, material storage, and microelectrode applications.

The present invention provides methods of directly stimulating neural tissue with optical energy. By stimulating neural tissue at wavelengths, laser pulses, and spot sizes disclosed herein, nerve stimulation may be used to uniquely stimulate neural tissue in way not afforded by other means of stimulation. It can allow basic scientists to study the properties of individual neurons or populations of neurons without piercing tissue with fragile microelectrodes. Furthermore, responses of neural tissue can be studied in a pure fashion without contamination by electrical artifact commonly seen with electrical stimulation. With respect to clinical uses, optical stimulation can be used to map function in subsections of peripheral nerves as an aid to operative repair. Finally, stimulation with optical energy does not require physical contact with the nerve which may be an advantage clinically when physical manipulation of neural tissue is not desired.

In some embodiments, an implantable microelectrode is provided with a shank comprised of a laterally extending platform whose thickness and / or configuration contributes to reduced tissue encapsulation, with at least one electrode site disposed at least partially on or in the laterally extending platform. Novel methods of designing, making, and using an implantable microelectrode or biosensor resulting in reduced tissue encapsulation are also disclosed.

A lead stimulation / recording system is provided, which is a combination of a permanent DBS stimulating lead and a recording microelectrode. The DBS lead has a lumen extending from the proximal to the distal end of the lead, the lumen having an opening on each end of the lead. The microelectrode is configured and dimensioned to be insertable into the DBS lead from either the distal or proximal opening of the DBS lead, thereby permitting the microelectrode to be placed before, concurrently with, or after placement of the DBS lead. In addition, the system may be used with known microelectrode recording systems and methods of inserting the electrodes, such as the five-at-a-time method, the dual-microdrive method, or the single microdrive method.

An electric sensor array which is provided with several sensor positions that each have at least two microelectrodes. Molecular substances can be detected electrochemically and charged molecules can be transported or handled using the array. Measuring procedures can be effected, especially using two addressing procedures, in which sensor positions can be individually addressed and electrochemically or electrically controlled by pairing or in groups for voltage or impedance measurements. For biomolecular assays, affinity-binding molecules can be immobilized at the sensor positions, between the microelectrodes, or on auxiliary surfaces.

The invention relates to a multielectrode probe having a silicon substrate which supports multiple conductive electrodes for deep-brain electrical stimulation or recording of neural responses. The substrate has an upper end with multiple conductive portions for bonding to lead wires, and an elongated shank extends from the upper end. The shank supports multiple spaced-apart electrodes, typically ten in number, and conductive traces electrically connect the electrodes and conductive traces. Multiple probes are combined, and supported as an array by a cylindrical alignment cylinder.

Catheter for mapping and / or ablation, and methods of using the same. According to one embodiment, catheter includes a metallic cap having a plurality of apertures and at least one electrode disposed in each aperture of the plurality of apertures. According to another embodiment, the catheter includes a non-conductive cap having a plurality of apertures and at least one electrode disposed in each aperture of the plurality of apertures. Electrodes may be paired, arranged along the length of the cap, or circumferentially arranged on the cap, according to various embodiments. According to a further embodiment, a method for treating a condition of a heart includes placing a catheter inside the heart, mapping a region of the heart using mapping electrodes on the catheter, and ablating using an ablation electrode disposed about the mapping electrodes of the catheter.

A high-density microelectrode array that is flexible and stretchable and can also be implanted within living tissue is provided. The microelectrode array includes at least first and second implantable and biocompatible polymeric layers in which a plurality of patterned conductive features, including metallic contact pads, metallic traces and metallic electrodes are sandwiched therebetween. Each metallic trace is located between a metallic contact pad and a metallic electrode and has substantially rounded corners and a zigzag pattern. The latter features are provided using stent technology. The present invention also provides a method of fabricating such a flexible, stretchable, and implantable microelectrode arrays which combined micromaching technology and stent technology as well as an implantable medical device that includes the inventive microelectrode array.

Ablation of cardiac tissue is carried out by inserting a probe having an ablation electrode and a plurality of microelectrodes into a body of a living subject to establish contact between two of the microelectrodes and target tissue, and energizing the ablation electrode. While the ablation electrode is energized impedances are measured between the microelectrodes, and the power level of the ablation electrode adjusted according to the impedances.

An irrigated balloon catheter for use in an ostium of a pulmonary vein, includes a flex circuit electrode assembly adapted for circumferential contact with the ostium when the balloon is inflated. Adapted for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications and procedures, the balloon catheter may be used with a lasso catheter or focal catheter. The flex circuit electrode assembly includes a substrate, a contact electrode on an outer surface of the substrate, the contact electrode having a “fishbone” configuration with a longitudinally elongated portion and a plurality of transversal fingers, and a wiring electrode on an inner surface of the substrate, and conductive vias extending through the substrate electrically coupling the contact electrode and the writing electrodes. Microelectrodes with exclusion zones are strategically positioned relative to the electrodes. The electrodes may also be split into electrode portions.

The present invention discloses a method for preparing a wide aperture mesoporous silica molecular sieve fiber. An industrialized nonionics or cationic surfactant is adopted as a template. An organic or inorganic silicon source is adopted as a precursor. In the state where various auxiliary reagents, such as inorganic salt, alcohol and the like, are added, the fiber is synthesized through the cooperative assembly between a surface active agent and inorganic species and a hydrothermal treatment process. The mesoporous silica molecular sieve fiber is between 3 and 20 nm in aperture, between 0.3 and 2.5 cm^3 / g in pore volume, and between 600 and 1200 cm^2 / g in specific area. The material is easy to obtain, the technical requirements are comparatively simple, and the operation is feasible. The method has a very wide application range in terms of the preparation of composite fortifying fiber and semiconductor porous nanometer tube and nanometer wire in the fields of nanometer microelectrode and aviation material.

A microelectrophoresis chip comprises a substrate in which there are formed one or more channels, one channel for each sample to be evaluated. The channels extend for the length of the chip, a distance of generally around 1 cm, and are about 1 to 10 mum wide and 1 to 10 mum in depth. The channels are filled with a homogeneous separation matrix which acts as an obstacle to the electrophoretic migration of the charged molecules. Microelectrodes disposed in the channels are used to induce an electric filed within the homogeneous separation medium. When a voltage is applied across two or more of the microelectrodes, the charged molecules are induced to move and separate according to the electric field density, the type of solvent film, and the charge, shape and size of the charged molecule. The chip may further comprise detectors, such as light polarization detectors, fluorescence emission detectors, biosensors, electrochemical sensors or other microcomponents which may include sites for enzymatic or chemical manipulation of the moved or separated charged molecules.

Disclosed herein is a device A device of the microelectrode array architecture, comprising: (a) a bottom plate comprising an array of multiple microelectrodes disposed on a top surface of a substrate covered by a dielectric layer; wherein each of the microelectrode is coupled to at least one grounding elements of a grounding mechanism, wherein a hydrophobic layer is disposed on the top of the dielectric layer and the grounding elements to make hydrophobic surfaces with the droplets; (b) a field programmability mechanism for programming a group of configured-electrodes to generate microfluidic components and layouts with selected shapes and sizes; and, (c) a system management unit, comprising: (i) a droplet manipulation unit; and (ii) a system control unit.

A method for making a plurality of low-cost microelectrode arrays (MEAs) on one substrate utilizing certain unmodified printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication processes and selected materials. In some embodiments, a MEA device is composed of a thin polymer substrate containing patterned conductive traces. Coverlays on both sides of the substrate insulate the conductive traces and defines the electrodes. Preferably, flexible PCB technology is utilized to simultaneously define the microelectrode arrays. In an embodiment, the sensor is an integrated temperature sensor / heater in which the MEA device operates to record extracellular electrical signals from electrically active cell cultures. The present invention enables economical and efficient mass production of MEA devices, making them particularly suitable for disposable applications such as drug discovery, biosensors, etc.

An integrated electrode structure can comprise a catheter shaft comprising a proximal end and a distal end, the catheter shaft defining a catheter shaft longitudinal axis. A flexible tip portion can be located adjacent to the distal end of the catheter shaft, the flexible tip portion comprising a flexible framework. A plurality of microelectrodes can be disposed on the flexible framework and can form a flexible array of microelectrodes adapted to conform to tissue. A plurality of conductive traces can be disposed on the flexible framework, each of the plurality of conductive traces can be electrically coupled with a respective one of the plurality of microelectrodes.

Relating to sensors and molecular imprinting technologies, the invention discloses an electropolymerization molecular imprinting technology-based double-parameter composite micro-sensor and a preparation thereof. According to the invention, three electrochemical microelectrode systems are integrated on a same chip, and each electrochemical microelectrode system has its independent micro-electrochemical reaction pool. Through encapsulation by a sealant, the integrated chip can form an open composite measurement pool containing three electrochemical microelectrode systems. In the micro-reaction pool of each electrochemical microelectrode system, by injecting a solution from the outside, a molecular imprinting procedure containing in situ polymerization and ultrasonic elution of template molecules can be implemented separately, thus obtaining a molecularly imprinted sensor. The left and right microelectrode systems of the composite micro-sensor respectively recognize two corresponding molecules due to different molecularly imprinted sensitive membranes, and the electrochemical microelectrode system positioned in the middle is used as a differential detection reference so as to deduct background signals and environmental effects of a test system. The composite micro-sensor provided in the invention can recognize two molecules simultaneously.

The present invention relates to a microfluidic electrochemical sensor apparatus and a method for conducting analytical tests with said apparatus for multi-reactant assays. The apparatus of this invention is a multi-layer body made of at least three layers, the first one being a polymer layer (1) comprising a microstructure (5) with at least one integrated microelectrode (4) and conductive tracks (13) for connection to an external electrochemical unit, the second one being a non-porous material serving to cover said microstructure so as to enable microfluidic manipulations and the third one being a porous layer (2) such as a membrane or a glass frit, said porous layer comprising at least one reagent (3) to be solubilized upon contact with a test solution (7) and reacting with an analyte (6) present in said solution to form a product that is transported along said microstructure so as to enable electrochemical detection of said analyte. The invention notably enables the performance of multi-reactant assays in a reduced number of steps.

A method of manipulating droplet in a programmable EWOD microelectrode array comprising multiple microelectrodes, comprising: constructing a bottom plate with multiple microelectrodes on a top surface of a substrate covered by a dielectric layer; the microelectrode coupled to at least one grounding elements of a grounding mechanism, a hydrophobic layer on the top of the dielectric layer and the grounding elements; manipulating the multiple microelectrodes to configure a group of configured-electrodes to generate microfluidic components and layouts with selected shapes and sizes, comprising: a first configured-electrode with multiple microelectrodes arranged in array, and at least one second adjacent configured-electrode adjacent to the first configured-electrode, the droplet disposed on the top of the first configured-electrode and overlapped with a portion of the second adjacent-configured-electrode; and manipulating one or more droplets among multiple configured-electrodes by sequentially activating and de-activating one or more selected configured-electrodes to actuate droplets to move along selected route.

A cell potential measurement apparatus, which uses a planar electrode enabling a multi-point simultaneous measurement of potential change arising from cell activities, is provided which can conduct measurements accurately and efficiently as well as can improve convenience of arranging measurement results. According to the configuration of the cell potential measurement apparatus of this invention, it includes an integrated cell holding instrument 1, which includes a planar electrode provided with a plurality of microelectrodes arranged in a matrix form on the surface of a substrate, a cell holding part for placing cells thereon, drawer patterns from the microelectrodes, and electric contact points for outside connections; an optical observation means 20 for optical observations of cells; a stimulation signal supply means 30 to be connected to the cell holding instrument for providing electric stimulation to the cells; and a signal processing means 30 to be connected to the cell holding instrument for processing an output signal arising from electric physiological activities of the cells. It is preferable that a cell culturing means 40 is also provided for maintaining a culture atmosphere of the cells placed on the integrated cell holding instrument.

The invention relates to a method for permeabilization of a cell structure consisting of a single cell, an intracellular structure or an organelle comprising the following steps: (a) microelectrodes, preferably two carbon fiber electrodes or hollow fiber electrodes, are provided, (b) the microelectrodes are connected to a power supply, (c) the electrodes, individually controlled by high-graduation micromanipulators, are placed close to the cell structure at an appropriate inter-electrode distance, and (d) a highly focused electric field of a strength sufficient to obtain electroporation is applied between the electrodes. The method may be used in order to transfer cell impermeant solutes, such as drugs or genes, into the cell structure or out of the cell structure, in biosensors, in the treatment of tumours and neurodegenerative diseases and in the study of biophysical processes.

<heading lvl="0">Abstract of Disclosure< / heading> An array of selectively addressible microelectrodes for combinatorial synthesis of complex polymers or alloys.

Described herein are microelectrode array devices, and methods of fabrication and use of the same, to provide highly localized and efficient electrical stimulation of a neurological target. The device includes multiple microelectrode elements arranged along an elongated probe shaft. The microelectrode elements are dimensioned and shaped so as to target individual neurons, groups of neurons, and neural tissue as may be located in an animal nervous system, such as deep within a human brain. Beneficially, the neurological probe can be used to facilitate location of the neurological target and remain implanted for long-term monitoring and / or stimulation.

A deep brain stimulation lead system has a medical lead, or similar elongate medical insertion device, securable with a lead lock through a cannula slit, thereby allowing a lead to remain electrically operative and preventing movement of the lead during removal of a stylet, recording microelectrode, or cannula.

The invention discloses an ion-selective electrode based on a graphene electrode, comprising an electrode base body and an ion-selective polymer film coated on the surface of the electrode base body, wherein the electrode base body is an electrode doped with graphene or decorated by a graphene film on the electrode surface by electro-deposition. The ion-selective electrode, provided by the invention, has the advantages of simple preparation, low cost, fast electron transfer, stable potential, high sensitivity, good selectivity and the like, is applied to detection of ion concentration in solution, and provides a new idea to development of the ion-selective electrode towards a microelectrode aspect.

This invention relates to a low impedance cell potential measuring electrode assembly typically having a number of microelectrodes on an insulating substrate and having a wall enclosing the region including the microelectrodes. The device is capable of measuring electrophysiological activities of a monitored sample using the microelectrodes while cultivating those cells or tissues in the in the region of the microelectrodes. The invention utilizes independent reference electrodes to lower the impedance of the overall system and to therefore lower the noise often inherent in the measured data. Optimally the microelectrodes are enclosed by a physical wall used for controlling the atmosphere around the monitored sample.

Construction and characterization of microfabricated recessed disk microelectrodes (RDMs) of 14 and 55 μm diameter are reported. The work reported here makes several new contributions to the current literature on microfabricated RDMs. Hybrid blamers were constructed by fusion of vesicles of dimyristoylphosphatidyl choline (DMPC), which forms the top layer, with ethanol-rinsed SAMs of hexadecanethiol on gold, which form the bottom layer. Gramicidin A was included in the modifying solutions to incorporate it into hybrid blamers.