Electrode Pooling for Neural Recording

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Solution Overview

Problem

Silicon probes used for recording electrical signals from neurons are limited by the number of wires, restricting the number of channels that can be recorded simultaneously due to space constraints in the brain, which hampers the ability to capture neural activity effectively.

Innovation Solution

The method of electrode pooling, where multiple electrodes are connected to a receiver unit using a single lead through a set of controllable switches, allowing for the pooling of signals and increasing the number of neurons that can be recorded without significantly impacting the signal quality.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If multiple electrodes are connected to the receiver unit using separate leads, then the number of channels that can be recorded simultaneously is increased, but the size and complexity of the electrode unit increases, which is not feasible due to volume limitations within the brain

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenumber of channels recorded simultaneouslyVSAvoidnumber of leads

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple electrode leads are merged into a single shared lead that connects to the receiver unit. The lead is time-division multiplexed to carry signals from multiple electrodes sequentially, allowing many electrodes to be connected with only one physical lead, thereby resolving the contradiction between recording capacity and device complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses dynamic switching to change the connection configuration between electrodes and the lead over time. During the sampling phase, each electrode is dynamically connected to the lead in sequence for signal characterization. During the acquisition phase, multiple electrodes are dynamically connected to the same lead simultaneously for pooled recording, enabling flexible adaptation between different operational modes

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Quantity of substance

If multiple electrodes are connected to the receiver unit using separate leads, then the number of neurons that can be recorded is increased, but the size of the electrode unit increases, which is constrained by volume limitations within the brain

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenumber of electrodesVSAvoidsize of electrode unit

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The single lead serves multiple functions by being shared among many electrodes through time-division multiplexing. It acts as a communication channel for multiple electrodes during the sampling phase and as a pooled recording channel during the acquisition phase, eliminating the need for separate dedicated leads for each electrode

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Productivity

If electrodes are pooled and connected to the receiver unit via a single lead, then the number of neurons recorded using a reduced number of leads is increased, but signal quality may be impacted due to noise and interference

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenumber of neurons recordedVSAvoidsignal quality

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

Before pooling electrodes for simultaneous recording, the system performs a preliminary sampling phase where each electrode is individually connected to the lead to characterize its signal properties and identify noise characteristics. This preliminary characterization data is stored and used during the acquisition phase to isolate and extract individual electrode signals from the pooled signal, compensating for noise and interference through signal processing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses feedback from the sampling phase to guide signal processing during the acquisition phase. The characterized signal properties and noise profiles obtained during sampling are fed back into the signal isolation algorithm, which uses this information to selectively extract clean neural signals from the pooled signal while filtering out noise and interference from other electrodes

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS12097033B2Methods and systems for electrode pooling

Publication Date: 2024.09.24 CALIFORNIA INST OF TECH

AI summary

A method includes providing a first electrode and a second electrode, receiving a first plurality of signals from the first electrode during a first period of time, and receiving a second plurality of signals from the second electrode during a second period of time. The method also includes receiving a pooled signal comprising a third plurality of signals from the first electrode and a fourth plurality of signals from the second electrode and isolating, from the pooled signal, one or more of the third plurality of signals and one or more of the fourth plurality of signals.