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NEUROMODULATION

Multifunctional optofluidic brain probes

Nature Biomedical Engineering volume 3, pages 596–597 (2019)Cite this article

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Smartphone-controlled optofluidic neural implants with replaceable and replenishable plug-like drug cartridges enable the selective wireless manipulation of brain circuits in rodents via chronic pharmacology and photostimulation.

The brain relies on billions of neurons and glial cells working in concert with one another to both process information and orchestrate complex motor functions. The asynchronous firing of these cells can result in dysfunctional neuropathophysiology, such as essential tremor or Parkinson’s disease, which decrease a patient’s quality of life and their capacity to operate in society. To address such diseases, traditional approaches have relied on a combination of pharmaceutical interventions and deep brain stimulation (DBS). However, many patients do not respond well to medications, or become resistant to the administered drug after several years of continued treatment; also, in the case of DBS, open-loop neuromodulation is difficult to adapt to an ever-changing disease state1. Similarly, in instances of refractory diseases where DBS is used, the rigid planar design of standard electrodes can lead to a mismatch in mechanical properties between the brain’s soft tissue and the electrical leads of the stimulation device. This mismatch can potentiate an increase in the foreign-body response and in tissue scarring2, which can lead to long-term complications for patients with neurological diseases.

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Fig. 1: Refillable optofluidic brain implants for neuromodulation.
Fig. 2: Potential integration of optofluidic brain probes and other diagnostic and drug-delivery systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    John F. Zimmerman

  2. Department of Chemistry, the James Franck Institute, the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Bozhi Tian

Authors
  1. John F. Zimmerman
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  2. Bozhi Tian
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Correspondence to John F. Zimmerman or Bozhi Tian.

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Zimmerman, J.F., Tian, B. Multifunctional optofluidic brain probes. Nat Biomed Eng 3, 596–597 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-019-0439-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-019-0439-7

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