Science and Technology Daily reporter Dai Xiaopei
In craniotomy, a new flexible electrode composed of 2 micron-sized electrode points is placed on the brain, and the doctor can accurately distinguish the brain's nerve nuclei, cortical functional areas, etc., which is conducive to maximizing the protection of brain function and reducing the probability of surgical disability and death. This new flexible electrode is jointly developed by researchers from Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Stanford University and Tianjin University affiliated to Capital Medical University, and can be applied to the field of brain-computer interface in the future to help paralyzed patients recover, and the relevant research results were published online on the 25th in the journal Science.
Jia Wang, one of the above-mentioned research leaders and vice president of Beijing Tiantan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, introduced that modern neurosurgery attaches great importance to "precision" and requires doctors to "see" the brain structure more timely and accurately during surgery to protect the patient's brain function to the greatest extent. However, in clinical practice, the existing technical system cannot fully meet the needs, and the probability of disability or even death after craniotomy is still high in patients with disease accumulation in areas with intensive functions.
Jia Wang, vice president of Beijing Tiantan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, demonstrated the new flexible electrode
To this end, the above-mentioned collaborative team proposed a solution that "can be closely attached to the flexible microarray electrode in irregular areas of the brain" and developed a new conductive polymer material. The material can maintain electrical conductivity after being stretched several times, and can also maintain tensile and high conductivity when processed to 2 microns, achieving a major breakthrough in the field of stretchable organic electronic devices. Because the electrode is soft and stretchable, it can be used in a variety of irregular and easily damaged scenes such as brainstem or neurosurgical cavities, and operations such as traction and twisting of surgical instruments will not cause it to be damaged. In addition, based on the characteristics of high conductivity and high density, the electrode can accurately locate the accuracy of a single cell, in the form of a "heat map" to help doctors directly "see" the brain nerve nuclei, which is conducive to protecting brain function.
The new flexible electrodes are thin and flexible
It is reported that this is currently the world's most accurate flexible stretchable microarray electrode. This flexible electrode and flexible electronic device can not only make the neurosurgical operation more accurate, but also serve as the core technology in the brain-computer interface, which is expected to play an important role in brain science research and clinical translation.
The researchers demonstrated the use of new flexible electrodes on a brain model
Jia Wang introduced that the application of the above new technologies, the Department of Neurosurgery of Beijing Tiantan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University will rely on platforms such as the National Center for Neurological Diseases and the National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases to continue to carry out in-depth research on new technologies for functional monitoring of important nerves that are easy to damage important nerves in skull base surgery and new strategies for intelligent repair of patients with limb paralysis, so as to help the development of brain science from the perspective of neurosurgery.
(Courtesy of Beijing Tiantan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University)