Effects on radiation oncology treatments involving various neuromodulation devices.

Object: Where no society-based or manufacturer guidance on radiation limits to neuromodulation devices is available, this research provides the groundwork for neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists who rely on the computerized treatment plan clinically for cancer patients. The focus of the article is to characterize radiation parameters of attenuation and scatter when an incident therapeutic x-ray beam is directed upon them. At the time of this writing, manufacturers of Neuromodulation products do not recommend direct exposure of the device in the beam nor provide guidance for the maximum dose for these devices.

New approaches to eliminating common-noise artifacts in recordings from intracortical microelectrode arrays: inter-electrode correlation and virtual referencing.

Intracortical microelectrode arrays record multi-unit extracellular activity for neurophysiology studies and for brain-machine interface applications. The common first step is neural spike-detection; a process complicated by common-noise signals from motion artifacts, electromyographic activity, and electric field pickup, especially in awake/behaving subjects. Often common-noise spikes are very similar to neural spikes in their magnitude, spectral, and temporal features.

Collagenase-aided intracortical microelectrode array insertion: effects on insertion force and recording performance.

Intracortical microelectrodes puncture the intact pia mater membrane during insertion, a process that can cause brain dimpling and trauma. To ensure that the device is able to withstand forces during implantation without buckling, the selection of acceptable implant materials and geometries is limited to rigid designs with large cross-sectional areas. Such designs likely increase insertion trauma and potentially exacerbate the chronic tissue response.

Collagenase-aided insertion of intracortical microelectrode arrays: evaluation of insertion force and chronic recording performance.

Typically intracortical electrodes are required to puncture the intact pia mater during insertion which in the process can lead to brain dimpling and trauma. Furthermore, there is interest in the development of more flexible substrates to reduce relative micromotion after implantation, but such device have difficulty penetrating the pia without buckling. In this paper a strategy for reducing the mechanical integrity of the pia's collagen network by treatment with collagenase is evaluated experimentally.