Massively parallel microwire arrays integrated with CMOS chips for neural recording
Abdulmalik Obaid, Mina-Elraheb Hanna, Yu‐Wei Wu, Mihály Köllő, Romeo Rácz, Matthew R. Angle, Jan Müller, Nora Brackbill, William Wray, Felix Franke, E. J. Chichilnisky, Andreas Hierlemann, Jun Ding, Andreas T. Schaefer, Nicholas A. Melosh
Abstract
Multi-channel electrical recordings of neural activity in the brain is an increasingly powerful method revealing new aspects of neural communication, computation, and prosthetics. However, while planar silicon-based CMOS devices in conventional electronics scale rapidly, neural interface devices have not kept pace. Here, we present a new strategy to interface silicon-based chips with three-dimensional microwire arrays, providing the link between rapidly-developing electronics and high density neural interfaces. The system consists of a bundle of microwires mated to large-scale microelectrode arrays, such as camera chips. This system has excellent recording performance, demonstrated via single unit and local-field potential recordings in isolated retina and in the motor cortex or striatum of awake moving mice. The modular design enables a variety of microwire types and sizes to be integrated with different types of pixel arrays, connecting the rapid progress of commercial multiplexing, digitisation and data acquisition hardware together with a three-dimensional neural interface.