Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) include stimulators, infusion devices, and neuroprostheses. They all belong to functional neurosurgery. Deep brain stimulators (DBS) are widely used for therapy and are in need of innovative evolutions. Robotized exoskeletons require BCIs able to drive up to 26 degrees of freedom (DoF). We report the nanomicrotechnology development of prototypes for new 3D DBS and for motor neuroprostheses. For this complex project, all compounds have been designed and are being tested. Experiments were performed in rats and primates for proof of concepts and development of the electroencephalogram (EEG) recognition algorithm.

METHODS:

Various devices have been designed. (A) In human, a programmable multiplexer connecting five tetrapolar (20 contacts) electrodes to one DBS channel has been designed and implanted bilaterally into STN in two Parkinsonian patients. (B) A 50-mm diameter titanium implant, telepowered, including a radioset, emitting ECoG data recorded by a 64-electrode array using an application-specific integrated circuit, is being designed to be implanted in a 50-mm trephine opening. Data received by the radioreceiver are processed through an original wavelet-based Iterative N-way Partial Least Square algorithm (INPLS, CEA patent). Animals, implanted with ECoG recording electrodes, had to press a lever to obtain a reward. The brain signature associated to the lever press (LP) was detected online by ECoG processing using INPLS. This detection allowed triggering the food dispenser.

RESULTS:

(A) The 3D multiplexer allowed tailoring the electrical field to the STN. The multiplication of the contacts affected the battery life and suggested different implantation schemes. (B) The components of the human implantable cortical BCI are being tested for reliability and toxicology to meet criteria for chronicle implantation in 2012. (C) In rats, the algorithm INPLS could detect the cortical signature with an accuracy of about 80% of LPs on the electrodes with the best correlation coefficient (located over the cerebellar cortex), 1% of the algorithm decisions were false positives. We aim to pilot effectors with DoF up to 3 in monkeys.

CONCLUSION:

We have designed multielectrodes wireless implants to open the way for BCI ECoG-driven effectors. These technologies are also used to develop new generations of brain stimulators, either cortical or for deep targets. This chapter is aimed at illustrating that BCIs are actually the daily background of DBS, that the evolution of the method involves a growing multiplicity of targets and indications, that new technologies make possible and simpler than before to design innovative solutions to improve DBS methodology, and that the coming out of BCI-driven neuroprostheses for compensation of motor and sensory deficits is a natural evolution of functional neurosurgery.

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