First Cortical Implant of a Semiconductor Multielectrode Array: Electrode Development and Data Collection.

摘要

Previous bioengineering research conducted at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) motivated the development of a multielectrode array capable of extracting and recording bioelectrical signals present on the mammalian cortex. Part of the work presented here involves the total redesign and packaging of the drive circuitry necessary to operate the AFIT Array. Visual evoked response (VER), independent test circuitry and JFET compensation were also incorporated into the redesign. Several unique packaging techniques were developed to protect the semiconductor devices from a Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSP) (ie. saline) environment. New encapsulation processes with polyimide enabled development of the AFIT Array into a chronic cortically implantable probe. A simple nondestructive surgical procedure was developed, which permits access to visual cortex. The probe was then implanted into a laboratory beagle and bioelectrical (cortical) data were collected over a period of 19 days. VER techniques were used to test whether the biological data collected reflected actual brain functions.