MICROMACHINED NEURAL PROBES

• US 20090177144A1
• Filed: 12/16/2008
• Published: 07/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Masmanidis, Sotiris K., Laurent, Gilles J., Du, Jiangang, Roukes, Michael L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,355,768 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 604/66
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/028 Microscale sensors, e.g. electromechanical sensors [MEMS]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/24 Detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/291 for electroencephalography [EEG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4041 Evaluating nerves condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4839 combined with drug delivery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6848 Needles
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/00 Devices for bringing media into the body in a subcutaneous, intra-vascular or intramuscular way; Accessories therefor, e.g. filling or cleaning devices, arm-rests vaccination appliances for veterinary use A61D1/025 ; tube connectors, tube couplings, valves or branch units specially adapted for medical use A61M39/00; containers specially adapted for medical or pharmaceutical purposes A61J1/00; combinations of vial and syringe for mixing or transferring their contents A61J1/20; holders for containers for collecting, storing or administering blood or medical fluids A61J1/16
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0529 Electrodes for brain stimulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0531 Brain cortex electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0551 Spinal or peripheral nerve electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 43/00 Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors of trolley lines B60M1/28
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49002 Electrical device making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 Conductor or circuit manufacturing

Abstract

A neural probe includes at least one shaft, at least one first electrode disposed on a first side of the at least one shaft, and at least one second electrode disposed on a second side of the at least one shaft. The at least one second electrode is separately addressable from the at least first electrode.

Claims

1. A neural probe, comprising:

at least one shaft;

at least one first electrode disposed on a first side of the at least one shaft; and

at least one second electrode disposed on a second side of the at least one shaft;

wherein the at least one second electrode is separately addressable from the at least one first electrode.

2. The neural probe of claim 1, wherein a bulk volume of the shaft comprises a semiconductor or polymer material.

3. The neural probe of claim 1, wherein the at least one shaft has a thickness of less than 150 μ

m.

4. The neural probe of claim 1, wherein the at least one first electrode and at least one second electrode comprise a noble metal.

5. The neural probe of claim 1, further comprising a base from which the shaft is extended.

6. The neural probe of claim 5, further comprising two or more shafts extending from the base.

7. The neural probe of claim 1, further comprising at least one device which reads electric signals separately from the at least one first electrode and at least one second electrode.

8. An array of neural probes, comprising a plurality of neural probes of claim 1.

9. A neural probe, comprising:

a first structure, comprising a first base and a first shaft extended from the first base, the first shaft comprising at least one first electrode disposed thereon; and

a second structure, comprising a second base and a second shaft extended from the second base, the second shaft comprising at least one second electrode disposed on thereon, wherein the first structure is attached to the second structure, and the at least one second electrode is separately addressable from the at least one first electrode.

10. The neural probe of claim 9, wherein the at least one electrode is disposed on a first side of the first shaft and a microfluidic via is disposed on a second side of the first shaft.

11. The neural probe of claim 9, wherein the first structure comprises two or more shafts extended from the first base and the second structure comprises two or more shafts from the second base.

12. The neural probe of claim 9, wherein the first shaft has different length from the second shaft.

13. The neural probe of claim 9, wherein the first shaft and the second shaft have a thickness of less than about 150 μ

m.

14. The neural probe of claim 9, the first structure is bonded to the second structure using a spacer between the first and the second structures.

15. The neural probe of claim 14, wherein the spacer comprises an anisotropic conducting film, a flex cable, an integrated circuit, a printed circuit board, or a combination thereof.

16. The neural probe of claim 9, wherein separately addressable electrodes are disposed on both sides of at least one of the first and the second shafts.

17. A method of making a neural probe, comprising:

providing a substrate having a thickness of 150 μ

m or less;

patterning at least one first electrode on a first side of the substrate;

attaching the substrate to a carrier;

patterning the substrate into the neural probe comprising at least one shaft connected to a base; and

removing the neural probe from the carrier.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising forming at least one second electrode on a second side of the substrate wherein the at least one second electrode is separately addressable from the at least one first electrode.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising forming alignment marks through the substrate and using the alignment marks to align the at least one second electrode with the at least one first electrode.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising forming a layer comprising Parylene, silicon oxide, silicon nitride or polyimide over the at least one first electrode, forming a resist layer over the layer, patterning the resist layer by electron beam or UV lithography, and forming at least one opening in the layer to expose the at least one first electrode using the patterned resist layer as a mask.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising attaching a second neural probe to the neural probe.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the substrate comprises a silicon substrate and the neural probe is a part of an array of neural probes.

23. A method of measuring extracellular potentials in a biological tissue using at least one first neural probe, comprising:

addressing a first electrode located on a first side of at least one first shaft of the first neural probe; and

separately addressing a second electrode located either on a second side of the at least one first shaft or on a surface of at least one second shaft of a second neural probe connected to the first neural probe to the measure extracellular potentials in the biological tissue.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of separately addressing comprises reading electric signals from the second electrode separately from the first electrode to detect signals from a volume of the tissue.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the second electrode is disposed on the second side of the shaft.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the second electrode is disposed on a second neural probe.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising a third electrode is disposed on the second side of the second shaft.

28. A method of measuring extracellular potentials and providing an active agent using at least one neural probe, comprising:

addressing an electrode located on a shaft of the neural probe to measure extracellular potentials in brain tissue; and

delivering an active agent to the brain tissue through a microfluidic via in the shaft during the step of addressing.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein:

the electrode is located on a first side of the shaft;

the microfluidic via is located on a second side of the shaft; and

the active agent comprises a drug selected from at least one of a neurotransmitting or neuromodulating agent.