Smart Dura: a functional artificial dura for multimodal neural recording and modulation

A multi-modal neural interface capable of long-term recording and stimulation is essential for advancing brain monitoring and developing targeted therapeutics. Among the traditional electrophysiological methods, micro-electrocorticography (μECoG) is appealing for chronic applications because it provides a good compromise between invasiveness and high-resolution neural recording. When combining μECoG with optical technologies, such as calcium imaging and optogenetics, this multi-modal approach enables the simultaneous collection of neural activity from individual neurons and the ability to perform cell-specific manipulation. While previous efforts have focused on multi-modal interfaces for small animal models, scaling these technologies to larger brains, of primates, remains challenging. In this paper, we present a multi-modal neural interface, named Smart Dura, a functional version of the commonly used artificial dura with integrated electrophysiological electrodes for large cortical area coverage for the NHP brain. The Smart Dura is fabricated using a novel thin-film microfabrication process to monolithically integrate a micron-scale electrode array into a soft, flexible, and transparent substrate with high-density electrodes (up to 256 electrodes) while providing matched mechanical compliance with the native tissue and achieving high optical transparency (exceeding 97%). Our in vivo experiments demonstrate electrophysiological recording capabilities combined with neuromodulation, as well as optical transparency via multiphoton imaging. This work paves the way toward a chronic neural interface that can provide large-scale, bidirectional interfacing for multimodal and closed-loop neuromodulation capabilities to study cortical brain activity in non-human primates, with the potential for translation to humans.