A Barcelona-based startup called Inbrain Neuroelectronics has produced a novel brain implant made of graphene, and is gearing up for its first-in-human test this summer.
The technology is a type of brain-computer interface (BCI), which have garnered interest because they record signals from the brain and transmit them to a computer for analysis; BCIs have been used for medical diagnostics, as communication devices for people who can’t speak, and to control external equipment, including robotic limbs. But Inbrain intends to transform its BCI technology into a therapeutic tool for patients with neurological issues such as Parkinson’s disease.
Because Inbrain’s chip is made of graphene, the neural interface has some interesting properties, including the ability to be used to both record from and stimulate the brain. That bidirectionality comes from addressing a key problem with the metallic chips typically used in BCI technology: Faradaic reactions. Faradaic reactions are a particular type of electrochemical processes that occurs between a metal electrode and an electrolyte solution. As it so happens, neural tissue is largely composed of aqueous electrolytes. Over time, these Faradaic reactions reduce the effectiveness of the metallic chips.
That’s why Inbrain replaced the metals typically used in such chips with graphene, a material with great electrical conductivity. “Metals have Faraday reactions that actually make all the electrons interact with each other, degrading their effectiveness ... for transmitting signals back to the brain,” said Carolina Aguilar, CEO and cofounder of Inbrain.
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