Ultrasonically enabled neural probes with co-located electrical and mechanical transduction

We present a neural probe with the capability to measure and alter the mechanical environment of the probe. The ultrasonic neural probe can be actuated ultrasonically during insertion, greatly reducing the insertion force and reducing the average stress around the probe. Furthermore, the probe can measure viscoelastic properties of the probe-tissue interface via measuring the ultrasonic response of the probe. The probe can also measure micromotion, casued by physical motion such as breathing. The data can be useful for characterizing and improving neural probe and tissue-electrical interface reliability. We have demonstrated that with ultrasonic actuated insertion, we significantly reduced both the force of the electrode insertion and microglia activation, indicating an increase in neural microelectrode performance. In addition, a miniature recording system was developed that allows electrode potentials record chronically in mice.