Probe device for electrical stimulation and recording of the activity of excitable cells

• US 20060265039A1
• Filed: 05/18/2006
• Published: 11/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
• Original Assignee: Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum VZW (IMEC International), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
• Inventors: Van Kuyck, Kris, Nuttin, Bart, Bartic, Carmen
• Granted Patent: US 8,423,143 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/116
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/24 Detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4076 Diagnosing or monitoring particular conditions of the nervous system A61B5/4821, A61B5/4824 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0531 Brain cortex electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0534 Electrodes for deep brain stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0551 Spinal or peripheral nerve electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3605 Implantable neurostimulators for stimulating central or peripheral nerve system
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/061 using biological neurons, e.g. biological neurons connected to an integrated circuit

Abstract

A probe device is described having a substrate and a die on top of the substrate. The die has an array of stimulation/recording sites having at least one stimulation means and at least one recording means. The substrate comprising the die is folded into a cylindrical shape or a shape with a conical cross-section and, therefore, causes substantially no damage when it is implanted in tissue to be examined or treated, e.g., the brain of a patient in case of a neuro-probe device for use in deep brain stimulation.

Claims

1. A probe device for electrical stimulation and recording of activity of excitable cells in a tissue, the probe device comprising an array of pixels located on a die positioned on a substrate, wherein each pixel comprises at least one stimulation means and at least one recording means, and wherein the substrate is shaped so as to enable, when introduced into tissue of a patient, 3D stimulation of excitable cells present in the tissue and 3D measurement of excitable cell activity.

2. A probe device according to claim 1, wherein the probe device has one of a substantially cylindrical shape and a shape with a substantially conical cross-section.

3. A probe device according to claim 1, the substrate having a first area and the die having a second area, wherein the first area is bigger than the second area.

4. A probe device according to claim 3, wherein the first area defines a shaft of the probe device and the second area defines an active part of the probe device.

5. A probe device according to claim 1, wherein the die is a silicon die.

6. A probe device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises one of parylene C, parylene N, polyimide, polysiloxane rubber, teflon, a noble metal, titanium, an oxide, Si₃N₄, and biocompatible epoxies.

7. A probe device according to claim 1, further comprising a biocompatible insulating coating for protection against corrosion of contacts present on the substrate and on the die.

8. A probe device according to claim 1, wherein the probe device is a neuro-probe device for performing deep brain stimulation.

9. A method for the manufacturing of a probe device for electrical stimulation and recording of activity of excitable cells in a tissue, the method comprising:

providing an array of pixels on a die, each pixel comprising at least one stimulation means and at least one recording means; and

thinning the die comprising the array of pixels.

10. A method according to claim 9, further comprising bonding the die comprising the array of pixels onto a substrate.

11. A method according to claim 10, further comprising shaping the substrate so as to enable the probe device, when introduced into tissue of a patient, to perform 3D stimulation of excitable cells present in the tissue and 3D measurement of excitable cell activity.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein shaping the substrate comprises at least one of folding and bending the substrate.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein shaping the substrate comprises forming a device with at least one of a substantially cylindrical shape and a shape having a substantially conical cross-section.

14. A method according to claim 10, wherein bonding the die on the substrate is performed by means of wire bonding.

15. A method according to claim 10, wherein bonding the die on the substrate is performed by means of the flip chip technique.

16. A method according to claim 10, further comprises providing a biocompatible insulating coating for protection against corrosion of contacts present on the substrate and on the die.

17. A method for determining a stimulation pattern for application to excitable cells in a tissue, using a probe-device comprising an array of pixels located on a die positioned on a substrate, wherein each pixel comprises at least one stimulation means and at least one recording means, and wherein the substrate is shaped so as to enable, when introduced into tissue of a patient, 3D stimulation of excitable cells present in the tissue and 3D measurement of excitable cell activity, the method comprising:

recording electrical activity of excited cells;

comparing said recorded electrical activity to predetermined activity values of said excited cells; and

determining the stimulation pattern from said comparison.

18. Computer program product stored on a machine readable data storage device which when executed on a processing device executes the method of claim 17.

19. A device for determining a stimulation pattern for application to excitable cells in a tissue by means of a probe device comprising an array of pixels located on a die positioned on a substrate, wherein each pixel comprises at least one stimulation means and at least one recording means, and wherein the substrate is shaped so as to enable, when introduced into tissue of a patient, 3D stimulation of excitable cells present in the tissue and 3D measurement of excitable cell activity, the device comprising:

a probe device for recording electrical activity of excited cells and generating corresponding activity signals, wherein the probe device has an array of pixels, wherein each pixel comprises at least one stimulation means and at least one recording means;

processing means for comparing the generated activity signals with predetermined activity signals for the excited cells; and

stimulation pattern determining means for generating, from said comparison, stimulation pattern parameters of the stimulation pattern.

20. A device according to claim 19, wherein the stimulation pattern parameters are selected from the group consisting of frequency, amplitude, and pulse duration.