Devices

A soft implant with the shape and elasticity of the dura that carries electrodes and drug channels. EPFL, 2015: cortical recording in free-moving animals and spinal stimulation that restored walking after paralysis.

Device — Cortical surface

e-dura (electronic dura mater)

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soft implant · silicone · stretchable · spinal cord · chemotrode · EPFL · Europe · preclinical

e-dura (electronic dura mater)

One-line verdict: A soft implant that matches the mechanics of the dura, doing both cortical recording and spinal electrochemical stimulation in animals.

Quick tags: Recording and stimulation · Cortical surface and spinal · Europe (Switzerland) · Published: 2015

Overview

What it is: A soft neural implant with the shape and elasticity of the dura mater. It starts from a transparent silicone substrate with microfluidic channels for drug delivery, soft platinum-silicone electrodes and stretchable gold interconnects.

Why it matters: It targets the mechanical mismatch between soft tissue and stiff implants, which the authors name as a limit on long-term performance.

What was shown: The interconnects, electrodes and drug channels (“chemotrodes”) sustain millions of stretch cycles, stimulation pulses and chemical injections. The implants extracted cortical states in freely behaving animals for a brain-machine interface, and delivered electrochemical spinal neuromodulation that restored locomotion after paralyzing spinal cord injury.

Region: Europe. This entry sits outside the US-first scope and is listed because it is a landmark of the soft-implant approach.

Spec Card Grid

Identity

  • Authors: Ivan R. Minev, Pavel Musienko and co-authors, EPFL
  • Published: Science 347(6218):159-163, January 2015

Architecture

  • Substrate: transparent silicone with microfluidic channels
  • Electrodes: platinum-silicone composite
  • Interconnects: stretchable gold
  • Modalities: recording, electrical stimulation, drug delivery

Evidence and limits

  • Shown: cortical recording for BMI in freely behaving animals; spinal neuromodulation restoring locomotion after spinal cord injury
  • Not covered here: human use, channel counts and implant duration, which are in the paper

Engineering Verdict

Strengths: mechanical match to dura; combines electrical and chemical channels.

Limitations: fabrication complexity of stretchable multi-material devices; recording density well below modern penetrating probes.

References