Stretchable microelectrode array: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:05, 20 January 2025

Revision as of 12:56, 12 April 2025

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====Advantages====

There are several benefits of using soft and stretchable MEAs instead of traditional rigid or merely flexible MEAs. With traditional MEAs, the cells are grown on a rigid [[Substrate (biology)|substrate]] material such as [[glass]] or [[plastic]]. This environment is very different from the natural environment of the cells in the body, which causes the cells to behave differently [[in vitro]] than in their natural environment [[in vivo]]. This is a major issue for the use of rigid MEAs for pre-clinical research because the goal of pre-clinical research is to predict treatment outcomes in humans. The advantages of using sMEAs for pre-clinical research are twofold. First, the stiffness of the substrate that the cells are grown on matches more closely the stiffness of the cellular environment in the body. Second, sMEAs enable the application of [[Biomechanics|biomechanical]] cues to the cells, which affect cellular function and behavior. Both of these advantages reduce the mismatch of the environment of cells in vitro and in human body, i.e., the cells behave more similarly in vitro as they do in vivo, which improves the value of [[pre-clinical research]] to predict clinical outcomes, thus potentially reducing the failure rate of clinical trials (now >95%).

The advantages of using sMEAs for pre-clinical research are twofold. First, the stiffness of the substrate that the cells are grown on matches more closely the stiffness of the cellular environment in the body. Second, sMEAs enable the application of [[Biomechanics|biomechanical]] cues to the cells, which affect cellular function and behavior. Both of these advantages reduce the mismatch of the environment of cells in vitro and in human body, i.e., the cells behave more similarly in vitro as they do in vivo, which improves the value of [[pre-clinical research]] to predict clinical outcomes, thus potentially reducing the failure rate of clinical trials (now >95%).

====Disadvantage====

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====Advantages====

The main benefits of using sMEAs for [[in vivo]] applications are twofold. First, they can [[conform]] to the dynamic and often curved surfaces of biological tissues. Second, sMEAs cause significant smaller [[foreign body reaction]] than rigid MEAs because of the reduced mismatch in mechanical properties ([[stiffness]]) between the [[Implant (medicine)|implant]] the tissue.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Boufidis |first=Dimitris |last2=Garg |first2=Raghav |last3=Angelopoulos |first3=Eugenia |last4=Cullen |first4=D. Kacy |last5=Vitale |first5=Flavia |date=2025-02-21 |title=Bio-inspired electronics: Soft, biohybrid, and “living” neural interfaces |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57016-0 |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=1861 |doi=10.1038/s41467-025-57016-0 |issn=2041-1723}}</ref>

====Disadvantage====

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==Applications==

===Neural interfaces===

In [[neural interface]]s, sMEAs are utilized to record and stimulate [[neural activity]]. Their stretchability allows them to conform to the brain's surface or penetrate neural tissue without causing significant damage.<ref name=":0" /> This improves the quality of neural recordings and the effectiveness of neural stimulation, which is crucial for applications such as [[brain-machine interfaces]].<ref name=":0" />

===Electrocorticography===