Devices

A subdural grid of flat disk electrodes made by PMT, wired through the skull to a Blackrock percutaneous connector. Two published speech implants used it: 128 electrodes at 4 mm pitch in 2021 and 253 electrodes at 3 mm pitch in 2023.

Device — Cortical surface

High-density subdural ECoG array with percutaneous connector (PMT array, Blackrock connector)

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ECoG · subdural · percutaneous connector · PMT · Blackrock · speech · academic · human

Applications

High-density subdural ECoG array with percutaneous connector (PMT array, Blackrock connector)

One-line verdict: A clinical-style surface grid, laid on the pial surface and wired out through the skull. Two speech studies describe it in the same terms and differ in electrode count and spacing.

Quick tags: Recording · Cortical surface · Human · Percutaneous connector

Overview

What it is: A high-density electrocorticography (ECoG) electrode array made by PMT, paired with a percutaneous connector made by Blackrock Microsystems. The array lies in the subdural space on the pial surface. The connector passes signals through the skull to external hardware.

Where it appears: Both papers below call the implant a high-density ECoG array (PMT) with a Blackrock percutaneous connector, and both describe it as laid on the cortex over speech-related regions. See the applications that used it: the 2021 anarthria speech study and the 2023 speech and avatar study.

Limits: These are the two configurations the sources give. Neither source gives the electrode material, so none is stated here. The 2021 paper calls its implant “a customized combination”, so the two configurations are not described as a catalog product.

Spec Card Grid

Identity

  • Array maker: PMT
  • Connector maker: Blackrock Microsystems (percutaneous)
  • Placement: subdural, on the pial surface

2021 configuration (NEJM)

  • Electrodes: 128 flat, disk-shaped, in a 16-by-8 lattice
  • Array size: 6.7 cm long, 3.5 cm wide, 0.51 mm thick
  • Pitch: 4 mm center to center

2023 configuration (Nature)

  • Electrodes: 253 disc-shaped, in a lattice
  • Pitch: 3 mm center to center
  • Electrode size: 1 mm recording-contact diameter, 2 mm overall diameter
  • Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03698149, as cited in the paper

Evidence and limits

  • Not covered here: the 2023 array’s overall dimensions; electrode material; no 3D model yet

References