PIE Foundry
Type: Electrophysiology / Probes,
Keywords: Probes, Microelectrode array, Electrodes, Polymer, Flexible, Cuff electrode, Surface electrode, Recording, Stimulation, Microlithography
A service to expand access to polymer-based microelectrode arrays, by providing user training, quality control testing, and custom-made devices and tools
The Polymer Implantable Electrode (PIE) Foundry is a service which provides access to polymer-based microelectrode arrays for neuroscientists, by providing training, testing, and custom-made devices. Polymer-based electrodes offer improved device lifetime compared with conventional silicon and microwire probes, but there are few commercial options. By adapting processes from semiconductor foundries, the PIE Foundry can produce made-to-order devices with a high-degree of uniformity and precision. PIE Foundry offers BRAIN community members tools and training so they can incorporate polymer-based probes and electrodes into their own research.
* Custom fabrication of recording/stimulating electrodes based on user needs.
* Rapid fabrication of user-submitted designs.
* Penetrating, surface or peripheral nerve form-factors available.
* Thin, flexible, polymer construction 100x softer than silicon.
* Workshops, training, and testing services available to train users.
* To identify neural functional connectivities within and across different brain regions.
* To study long-term and hemostatic synaptic plasticity using chronically recorded spike activities.
* To investigate neural responses evoked and modulated by TMS and other non-invasive stimulations.
* To develop cortical and hippocampal prostheses for restoring cognitive functions.
* Penetrating (sub)cortical probe array for chronic recording in free-moving small mammals.
* Cuff and paddle electrodes for peripheral and/or spinal nerve stimulation.
* Transparent, non-magnetic probes for compatibility with MRI and/or optical imaging.
* Soft, flexible electrodes reduce chronic tissue damage.
* Flexible, thin-film electrodes can conform to irregular anatomy.
* Thin, transparent electrodes offer compatibility with imaging techniques.
* Microfabrication foundry offers consistent, high-quality and highly uniform construction.
* 2 micron minimum feature resolution.
* Currently only thin-film Parylene C is available as a substrate.
* Currently metal features limited to ~0.1-0.5 micron in thickness.
* Xu, H., Scholten, K., Jiang, W., Ortigoza-Diaz, J-L., Lu, Z., Liu, X., Meng, E., and Song, D Generic Parylene Microelectrode Array Implanted with Dip-coating Method into the Rat Brain. Proceedings of the IEEE EMBC Conference, 2022, 224-227.
* Xu, H., Jiang, W., Scholten, K., Liu, X., Meng, E., and Song, D. Design and characterization of a generic polymer penetrating multi-electrode array for rodents. Eighth Annual BRAIN Initiative Meeting, June 21-22, 2022.
* Scholten, K., Liu, X., Xu, H., Song, D., and Meng, E. The Polymer Implantable Electrode (PIE) Foundry: A public resource for polymer microelectrode arrays. Eighth Annual BRAIN Initiative Meeting, June 21-22, 2022.
* Xu, H., Scholten, K., Jiang, W., Ortigoza-Diaz, J-L., Meng, E., and Song, D. Multi-shank Parylene penetrating probe for brain research. The 3rd International Workshop on Neural Engineering and Rehabilitation, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, online, May 9-11, 2022. (Best poster competition 2nd place award)
* Scholten, K., Liu, X., Xu, H., Song, D., and Meng, E. The Polymer Implantable Electrode Foundry: A shared-resource for fabricating polymer-based microelectrode arrays. Neuroelectronic Interfaces Gordon Research Conference, March 13-18, 2022.
* Scholten, K., Ortigoza-Diaz, J., Xu, H., Song, D., and Meng, E. A 64-channel Parylene C neural probe array for (sub)/cortical recording in free-moving rodents. North American Neuromodulation / Neural Interfaces Conference (NANS-NIC), 2021.
* Yoo, J., Samiei, A., Jiang, W., Song, D., Hashemi, H., and Meng, E. Polymer ultrasonic bump (PUB) bonding integrated circuits to high-density polymer neural interfaces. North American Neuromodulation / Neural Interfaces Conference (NANS-NIC), 2021
* Jiang, W., Wang, X., Xu, H., Meng, E., and Song, D. Large-scale recordings from the rat hippocampus using a 3D Parylene-based multi-electrode array. Society for Neuroscience Global Connectome Abstracts, 2021, P381.04.
* Scholten, K., Ortigoza-Diaz, J., Song, D., and Meng, E. Advances in polymer microelectrode array technology. Society for Neuroscience Global Connectome Abstract, 2021, P381.07.
* Jiang, W., Wang, X., Xu, H., Meng, E., and Song, D. A 3D Parylene-based multi-electrode array for large scale recordings from the rat hippocampus. Neuromatch 3.0, 2020.
* Xu, H., Hirschberg, A., Jiang, W., Scholten, K., Wang, X., Meng, E., and Song, D. Chronic Recording from Multiple Hippocampal Sub-Regions in Free Moving Rats with a Flexible Parylene-Based Multi-Electrodes Array. Neuromatch 3.0, 2020.
* Jiang, W., Wang, X., Xu, H., Scholten, K., Meng, E., and Song, D. Developing a 3D Parylene-based multi-electrode array for large-scale recordings from the rat hippocampus. Sixth Annual BRAIN Initiative Investigator Meeting, June 1-2, 2020.
* Scholten, K., Ortigoza-Diaz, J., Xu, H., Song, D., and Meng, E. A shared technology resource for polymer microelectrode arrays. Sixth Annual BRAIN Initiative Investigator Meeting, June 1-2, 2020.
Ellis Meng, Professor; Dong Song, Research Associate Professor
University of Southern California
TEAM / COLLABORATOR(S)
Kee Scholten, Senior Research Associate, University of Southern California; Artin Petrossians, Research Associate, University of Southern California; Huijing Xu, Research Associate, University of Southern California; Wenxuan Jiang, Research Assistant, University of Southern California; Zhouxiao Lu, Research Assistant, University of Southern California; Steven Orler, Lab Technician.
FUNDING SOURCE(S)
NIH U24 NS113647