A method for efficient, rapid, and minimally invasive implantation of individual non-functional motes with penetrating subcellular-diameter carbon fiber electrodes into rat cortex

Objective Distributed arrays of wireless neural interfacing chips with 1-2 channels each, known as “neural dust”, could enhance brain machine interfaces (BMIs) by removing the wired connection through the scalp and increasing biocompatibility with their submillimeter size. Although several approaches for neural dust have emerged, a procedure for implanting them in batches that builds upon the safety and performance of currently used electrodes remains to be demonstrated. Approach Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of implanting batches of wireless motes that rest on the cortical surface with carbon fiber electrodes of subcellular diameter (6.8-8.4 µm) that penetrate to a target brain depth of 1 mm without insertion aids. To simulate their implantation, we assembled more than 230 mechanically equivalent motes and affixed them to insertion tools with polyethylene glycol (PEG), a quickly dissolvable and biocompatible material. Then, we implanted mote grids of multiple configurations into rat cortex in vivo and evaluated insertion success and their arrangement on the brain surface using photos and videos captured during their implantation. Main Results When placing motes onto the insertion device, we found that they aggregated in molten PEG such that the array pitch was only 5% wider than the dimensions of the mote bases themselves (240 x 240 µm). Overall, we found that motes with this arrangement could be inserted into rat cortex with a high success rate, as 171/186 (92%) motes in 4x4 (N=4) and 5x5 (N=5) square grid configurations were successfully inserted using the insertion device alone. After implantation, measurements of how much motes tilted (22±9°, X̄±S) and had been displaced relative to their original positions were smaller than those measured for devices implanted inside the brain in the literature. Significance Collectively, these data establish the viability of safely implementing motes with ultrasmall electrodes and epicortically-situated chips for use in future BMIs.