Waveguide neural interface device

• US 20110112591A1
• Filed: 11/05/2010
• Published: 05/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Neuronexus Technologies Incorporated (NEL Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Neuronexus Technologies Incorporated (NEL Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Seymour, John P., Gulari, Mayurachat Ning, Kong, K. C., Kipke, Daryl R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,870,857 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/3
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0233 Special features of optical sensors or probes classified in A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0084 for introduction into the body, e.g. by catheters A61B5/1459 takes precedence
• 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 2005/0626 Monitoring, verifying, controlling systems and methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/0643 Applicators, probes irradiating specific body areas in close proximity
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/0622 Optical stimulation for exciting neural tissue
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49016 Antenna or wave energy "plumbing" making

Abstract

A waveguide neural interface device including: a neural device implantable in tissue and including an array of electrode sites that electrically communicate with their surroundings, in which the array of electrode sites includes at least one recording electrode site; and a waveguide, coupled to the neural device, that carries light along a longitudinal axis and includes a light directing element that redirects the carried light from the waveguide to illuminate selectively targeted tissue, in which at least a portion of the redirected light is directed laterally away from the longitudinal axis and the recording electrode site is configured to sample illuminated tissue. A method for assembling a waveguide neural interface device is also described.

Claims

1. A waveguide neural interface device, comprising:

a neural device implantable in tissue and including an array of electrode sites that electrically communicate with their surroundings, wherein the array of electrode sites includes at least one recording electrode site; and

a waveguide formed separately from and coupled to the neural device, wherein the waveguide carries light along a longitudinal axis and includes a light directing element that redirects the carried light from the waveguide to illuminate selectively targeted tissue;

wherein at least a portion of the redirected light is directed laterally away from the longitudinal axis; and

wherein the recording electrode site is configured to sample illuminated tissue.

2. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein the neural device is a neural probe.

3. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein the redirected light is aimed substantially in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

4. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the array of electrode sites is located on a first face of the neural device and the waveguide is coupled to a second face of the neural device, wherein the second face is opposite the first face.

5. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 4, wherein the neural device includes an aperture extending between the first face and the second face.

6. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 5, wherein the light directing element of the waveguide includes at least one selected from the group consisting of:

a refractor that refracts light through the aperture of the neural device, a reflector that reflects light through the aperture of the neural device, and a lens that focuses light through the aperture of the neural device.

7. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the electrode sites and the waveguide are mounted on the same face of the neural device.

8. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the waveguide extends laterally beyond the neural device.

9. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein the light directing element of the waveguide includes a refractor that refracts light away from the longitudinal axis.

10. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein the light directing element of the waveguide includes a reflector that reflects light away from the longitudinal axis.

11. The waveguide neural interface of claim 9, wherein the reflector includes a roughened surface that scatters light.

12. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein the light directing element of the waveguide includes a lens that manipulates light away from the longitudinal axis.

13. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein the light directing element of the waveguide includes an optically dissipating portion that dissipates the carried light to illuminate tissue.

14. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein the waveguide includes a plurality of light directing elements, wherein each light directing element redirects a portion of the carried light from a different point on the waveguide.

15. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 14, wherein each light directing element redirects a portion of the carried light at a different distance along the length of the waveguide.

16. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, further comprising a second waveguide coupled to the neural device.

17. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 16, wherein the neural device includes a first branch and a second branch.

18. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 17, wherein the first waveguide is coupled to the first branch and second waveguide is coupled to the second branch.

19. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein the waveguide is rigid.

20. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein the waveguide further includes an inner core and a cladding layer over the core, and wherein the cladding layer is patterned to selectively expose the core, and the light directing element includes the exposed core.

21. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, further comprising a circuit board that interfaces with at least one of the array of electrode sites and the waveguide.

22. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 21, wherein the circuit board is double-faced and includes an electrical face having electrical components that interface with the array of electrode sites and an optical face having components that interface with the waveguide.

23. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 22, wherein the array of electrode sites is located on a front face of the neural device that is in communication with the electrical face of the circuit board, and the waveguide is located on a back face of the neural device that is in communication with the optical face of the circuit board.

24. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 23, wherein the circuit board further includes a light source that provides light to the waveguide.

25. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein the array of electrode sites further includes at least one stimulation electrode site.

51. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein the optically dissipating portion includes an optically diffusive portion that diffuses light.

52. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 1, wherein the optically dissipating portion includes an optically scattering portion that scatters light.

26. A waveguide neural interface device, comprising:

a neural device implantable in tissue and including an array of electrode sites that electrically communicate with their surroundings, wherein the array of electrode sites includes at least one recording electrode site; and

a waveguide coupled to the neural device, wherein the waveguide carries light along a longitudinal axis and includes an optically dissipating portion that dissipates the carried light to illuminate selectively targeted tissue;

wherein at least a portion of the dissipated light travels laterally away from the longitudinal axis from the optically dissipating portion; and

wherein the recording electrode site is configured to sample illuminated tissue.

27. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 26, wherein the neural device is a neural probe.

28. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 26, wherein the neural device includes an electrode substrate that is layered over the waveguide, wherein at least a portion of the array of electrode sites is located on the electrode substrate.

29. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 28, wherein the waveguide is mounted to the electrode substrate such that the optically dissipating portion is adjacent to at least a portion of the array of electrode sites.

30. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 28, wherein at least a portion of the optically dissipating portion extends laterally beyond the electrode substrate.

31. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 28, wherein the electrode substrate is wrapped around the waveguide.

32. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 28, wherein the electrode substrate includes an aperture that corresponds to the optically dissipating portion of the waveguide such that dissipated light is scattered through the aperture.

33. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 32, wherein the recording electrode site is adjacent to the aperture.

34. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 32, wherein the waveguide includes a second optically dissipating portion and the neural device includes a second aperture that corresponds to the second optically dissipating portion of the waveguide, such that dissipated light is scattered through the second optically dissipating portion.

35. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 32, wherein the aperture is elongated in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the waveguide.

36. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 28, wherein the waveguide includes a reflector tip that reflects carried light along the longitudinal axis.

37. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 36, wherein the reflector may include a selectively roughened surface that modulates the path of reflected light.

38. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 26, wherein the dissipated light passing through the optically dissipating portion has substantially uniform intensity as a function of distance along the longitudinal axis of the optically dissipating portion.

39. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 26, wherein the waveguide further includes an inner core and a cladding layer over the core.

40. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 39, wherein the cladding layer is patterned to selectively expose the core, wherein the optically dissipating portion of the waveguide includes the exposed core.

41. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 40, wherein the optically dissipating portion of the waveguide further includes a layer of optically dissipating material patterned on the exposed core.

42. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 41, wherein the optically dissipating material is aluminum oxide.

43. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 40, wherein the exposed core is embedded with optically dissipating molecules.

44. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 40, wherein the waveguide is a thin-film structure.

45. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 40, wherein the waveguide is an optical fiber.

46. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 40, wherein the neural device includes an electrode substrate that is wrapped around the waveguide, wherein at least a portion of the array of electrode sites is located on the electrode substrate.

47. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 46, wherein the electrode substrate includes at least one aperture that corresponds to the exposed core, such that dissipated light is scattered through the aperture.

48. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 47, wherein the electrode substrate includes an optically dissipating material.

49. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 47, wherein the waveguide includes a second optically dissipating portion and the neural device includes a second aperture that corresponds to the second optically dissipating portion of the waveguide, such that dissipated light is scattered through the second optically dissipating portion.

50. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 26, further comprising a circuit board that is double-faced and includes an electrical face having electrical components that interface with the array of electrode sites and an optical face having components that interface with the waveguide.

53. A method of assembling a waveguide neural interface device, comprising the steps of:

providing a neural device that includes a plurality of electrode sites;

providing a waveguide, separate from the neural device, that is configured to carry light along a longitudinal axis and includes a light directing element that redirects the carried light away from the waveguide;

providing a circuit board, separate from the neural device and the waveguide, that is configured to interface with the plurality of electrode sites and the waveguide;

orienting the light directing element of the waveguide to a predetermined angular orientation relative to the neural device, wherein the predetermined angular orientation is based on a selected direction of redirected light; and

coupling each structure of the group comprising the neural device, the waveguide, and the circuit board to at least one of the other structures in the group, wherein coupling includes fixing the waveguide at the predetermined angular orientation relative to the neural device.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein orienting the light directing element includes rotating the waveguide about the longitudinal axis of the waveguide to the predetermined angular orientation.

55. The method of claim 53, wherein coupling includes coupling the waveguide to the circuit board and coupling the neural device to the circuit board.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein coupling the waveguide to the circuit board includes coupling the waveguide to a multi-faced circuit board including an optical face and an electrical face, wherein coupling the waveguide to a multi-faced circuit board includes:

coupling the waveguide to the optical face of the circuit board having optical components; and

coupling the neural device to the electrical face of the circuit board having electrical components.

57. The method of claim 53, wherein coupling including coupling the waveguide and the circuit board to form a waveguide-circuit board structure and coupling the neural device to the waveguide-circuit board structure.

58. The method of claim 53, wherein coupling includes coupling the neural device and the circuit board to form a neural device-circuit board structure and coupling the waveguide to the neural device-circuit board structure.

59. The method of claim 53, wherein coupling includes coupling the waveguide to the neural device to form a waveguide-neural device structure and coupling the circuit board to the waveguide-neural device structure.

60. The method of claim 53, wherein coupling the waveguide to the neural probe includes layering the neural device over the waveguide.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein layering the neural device over the waveguide includes wrapping the neural device around the waveguide.