Press Releases | March 22, 2021

Changing electrophysiology methods with an ultrasmall needle technology

A research team at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Information Engineering, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Department of Applied Chemistry and Life Science, and the Electronics-Inspired Interdisciplinary Research Institute (EIIRIS) at Toyohashi University of Technology, and the National Institute of Technology, Ibaraki College, has developed a <3-µm-diameter ultrasmall needle-electrode with an amplifier for extracellular recordings. The team proposed an assembly technique via a single needle-electrode topped amplifier package, called 'STACK', within a device geometry of approximately 1 × 1 mm2. The STACK device enabled the recording of neuronal activity from the mouse's brain in vivo, with a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Because of the great advantage of the small needle geometry compared to conventional electrodes, the STACK device offers high biocompatibility and minimized tissue damage during the recording, as well as further long-term and safe chronic recordings, toward the next generation of electrode technology in electrophysiology.

Full text: Goodbye large neural probes
TUT website: Press release