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A lithographically-patterned, elastic multi-electrode array for surface stimulation of the spinal cord

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Abstract

A new, scalable process for microfabrication of a silicone-based, elastic multi-electrode array (MEA) is presented. The device is constructed by spinning poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) silicone elastomer onto a glass slide, depositing and patterning gold to construct wires and electrodes, spinning on a second PDMS layer, and then micropatterning the second PDMS layer to expose electrode contacts. The micropatterning of PDMS involves a custom reactive ion etch (RIE) process that preserves the underlying gold thin film. Once completed, the device can be removed from the glass slide for conformal interfacing with neural tissue. Prototype MEAs feature electrodes smaller than those known to be reported on silicone substrate (60 μm diameter exposed electrode area) and were capable of selectively stimulating the surface of the in vitro isolated spinal cord of the juvenile rat. Stretchable serpentine traces were also incorporated into the functional PDMS-based MEA, and their implementation and testing is described.

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Acknowledgements

We thank James Ross for discussions regarding fabrication strategies, Bao To for machining and assembling initial versions of the clam** connector., J.Mark Meacham for illustration software help, and Jevin Scrivens, Edgar Brown, and Shane Migliore for advice about building and using the strain tester. This work was supported by NIH Grant EB00786-01, NSF IBN-0349042, and NIH Grant EB006179.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, 313 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA

    Kathleen W. Meacham, Richard J. Giuly, Liang Guo & Stephen P. DeWeerth

  2. Department of Physiology, Emory University School of Medicine, 615 Michael St., Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Shawn Hochman

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  1. Kathleen W. Meacham
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  2. Richard J. Giuly
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  3. Liang Guo
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  4. Shawn Hochman
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Correspondence to Stephen P. DeWeerth.

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KWM and RJG contributed equally to the work reported in this manuscript.

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Meacham, K.W., Giuly, R.J., Guo, L. et al. A lithographically-patterned, elastic multi-electrode array for surface stimulation of the spinal cord. Biomed Microdevices 10, 259–269 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-007-9132-9

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