Multifunctional neural fiber records brain activity, delivers drugs, and emits light

The short version

• Researchers developed a flexible implant under half a millimeter wide that simultaneously records electrical activity, delivers drugs, and provides optical stimulation across multiple brain depths.[ScienceDaily]
• During tests in living mice, the device recorded cortex and hippocampus signals while delivering fluids spaced millimeters apart.[ScienceDaily]
• Scientists consider the implant a potential long-term tool for studying or treating neurological conditions like epilepsy.[ScienceDaily]
• The implant remains far from clinical deployment, requiring further development, extensive testing, and regulatory clearance.[ScienceDaily]

Key facts

• The flexible implant measures less than 0.5 millimeters across and combines an optical core with eight surrounding microchannels for fluid delivery or recording wires.[ScienceDaily]
• Constructed from soft optical fibers with a angled tip, the device aims to cause less tissue disruption than conventional silicon probes.[ScienceDaily]
• In live mouse tests, the probe delivered substances at depths roughly three millimeters apart while recording electrical signals from both the cortex and hippocampus.[ScienceDaily]
• The project was led by the Technical University of Denmark in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen and University College London.[ScienceDaily]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• Scientists create a needle-thin brain implant that can do three jobs at onceScienceDaily - Science