CMU Array has potential to treat neurological disorders

3D printed at the nanoscale, the ultra-high-density microelectrode array (MEA) is fully customisable, so patients suffering from epilepsy or limb function loss due to stroke could one day have personalised medical treatment optimised for their individual needs. 

The team – including Rahul Panat, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Eric Yttri, assistant professor of biological sciences - applied Aerosol Jet 3D printing to produce arrays that solved the major design barriers of other brain computer interface (BCI) arrays. The team’s findings have been published in Science Advances. 

“Aerosol Jet 3D printing offered three major advantages,” Panat said in a statement. “Users are able to customise their MEAs to fit particular needs; the MEAs can work in three dimensions in the brain; and the density of the MEA is increased and therefore more robust.” 

MEA-based BCIs connect neurons in the brain with external electronics to monitor or stimulate brain activity. They are often used in neuroprosthetic devices, artificial limbs, and visual implants to transport information from the brain to extremities that have lost functionality. BCIs also have potential applications in treating epilepsy, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, but existing devices have limitations.