CN113367702A

CN113367702A - Fluorescent sensing composite cortical electrode

Info

Publication number: CN113367702A
Application number: CN202110786011.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈晗青; 安小广; 龙新云
Original assignee: Beijing Hkhs Healthcare Co ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Hkhs Healthcare Co ltd
Priority date: 2021-07-12
Filing date: 2021-07-12
Publication date: 2021-09-10

Abstract

The application relates to a fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode, which belongs to the technical field of medical instruments and comprises: the electrode wire is coated in the matrix and led out from the matrix; a plurality of optical fiber sensors are uniformly distributed on the circumference of each electrode contact, and fluorescent signals generated after metal ions closely related to neuron activities react with a fluorescent indicator can be captured by the optical fiber sensors, so that ions in a monitoring range are imaged. The fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode provided by the application can acquire electroencephalogram signals and metal ion concentration and distribution conditions in a monitoring area in real time, synchronously and in-situ, and further improves the monitoring precision of neural activity and the focus diagnosis precision and efficiency of nervous system diseases.

Description

Fluorescent sensing composite cortical electrode

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of medical instruments, in particular to a fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode.

Background

The nerve electrophysiology monitoring electrode is a medical device which can be implanted into cerebral cortex to monitor the activity of human brain electricity, and can be used in the fields of neurosurgery or research on the function of cerebrospinal nerve and the like. The nerve electrophysiology monitoring electrode is divided into an electrode capable of being implanted into the deep part of the brain and an electrode capable of being implanted into the cortex, wherein the electrode capable of being implanted into the deep part of the brain is used for monitoring the nerve electrical signal at the deep part of the brain tissue, and the electrode capable of being implanted into the cortex is used for monitoring the nerve electrical signal of the cortex.

However, in the course of neural activity in the cerebral cortex, it is difficult to accurately obtain neural activity information only by means of electrical signals of neural activity due to complexity of neural activity, and monitoring errors are likely to occur when neurosurgery is performed or studies on the function of cerebrospinal nerves, which affects the therapeutic effect and the accuracy of the studies.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to improve the accuracy of nerve activity monitoring, the application provides a fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode.

The application provides a fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode, which adopts the following technical scheme:

a fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode, comprising:

the electrode contact is connected with an electrode lead, and the electrode contact partially extends out of the substrate; the electrode lead is coated in the substrate and is led out from one end of the substrate;

and a plurality of optical fiber sensors are uniformly distributed on the circumference of each electrode contact and are used for detecting fluorescence generated when the fluorescence indicator reacts with metal ions in the neuron activity process.

By adopting the technical scheme, the nerve electrical signals and the metal ion distribution information in the nerve activity process can be monitored simultaneously, synchronously and in a coordinated way, and the accuracy of monitoring the nerve activity is improved.

Optionally, the plurality of electrode contacts are regularly arranged in multiple rows and multiple columns.

By adopting the technical scheme, the fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode can monitor the nerve electrical signals and ion distribution in a large range of the cerebral cortex, and is beneficial to improving the monitoring efficiency.

Optionally, a plurality of the electrode contacts are sequentially arranged along the length direction of the substrate.

By adopting the technical scheme, the fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode can monitor the electric signal and the ion distribution information of cortical neural activity in a small range, and has the advantages of small structure and flexible application.

Optionally, the electrode contact is made of platinum-iridium alloy, nickel-chromium alloy or stainless steel material.

Optionally, the optical fiber sensor includes a detection end and a transmission end, the detection end extends out of the base, and the transmission end is wrapped inside the base and led out of the base.

Optionally, the height of the detection end extending out of the base body is smaller than the height of the electrode contact extending out of the base body.

By adopting the technical scheme, the damage of the optical fiber sensor to the brain tissue can be reduced.

Optionally, the optical fiber sensor includes at least one group of conducting optical fiber bundles, and each group of conducting optical fiber bundles includes two or more optical fiber filaments.

By adopting the technical scheme, the fluorescence imaging can be carried out on the detected area so as to obtain the ion concentration and distribution information of the detected area.

Optionally, an injection flow channel is arranged on the substrate, and the injection flow channel is used for injecting a fluorescent indicator into the cerebral cortex.

By adopting the technical scheme, the fluorescent indicator can be injected into cerebrospinal fluid after the fluorescent sensing composite cortical electrode is implanted into the cerebral cortex, so that the complex steps of injecting the fluorescent indicator firstly and then implanting the electrode are simplified, and the efficiency of a surgical operation or a scientific research process is improved.

Optionally, the injection runner is formed by an injection pipe embedded in the base body.

Optionally, the injection flow channel is formed by a groove arranged inside the base body.

In summary, the fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode provided by the application can monitor the concentration and distribution condition of neuron electrical signals and metal ions in real time, synchronously and in-situ in the neurosurgery operation and the cerebrospinal nerve function research process, so that the accuracy of nerve activity monitoring is improved, and the treatment risk of the neurosurgery operation can be remarkably reduced; in addition, the fluorescent indicator can be injected through the injection runner after the fluorescent sensing composite cortical electrode is implanted, so that the complicated operation steps of injecting the fluorescent indicator first and then implanting the electrode are simplified.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view of a fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode of one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode according to another embodiment of the present application.

Description of reference numerals: 1. a substrate; 2. an electrode contact; 21. an electrode lead; 3. an optical fiber sensor; 31. a detection end; 32. a transmission end; 4. an injection tube; 41. a main pipe; 42. a branch pipe; 43. an injection port.

Detailed Description

The present application is described in further detail below with reference to figures 1-4.

Referring to fig. 1, the embodiment of the present application discloses a fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode, which includes a substrate 1, an electrode contact 2 and an optical fiber sensor 3. The number of the electrode contacts 2 is several, the electrode contacts 2 can be connected with the substrate 1 by means of inlaying, gluing and the like, and the inlaying arrangement mode is preferred in the application. Each electrode contact 2 is connected with an electrode lead 21, and the electrode lead 21 is coated inside the base body 1 and led out from the base body 1 so as to be connected with external signal processing equipment. A plurality of optical fiber sensors 3 are uniformly distributed on the circumference of each electrode contact 2, and the optical fiber sensors 3 are used for detecting fluorescent signals generated after the fluorescent indicator and metal ions in the neuron activity process act. The application provides a fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode, can be real-time, synchronous, the cerebral cortex electroencephalogram signal and the ion distribution condition in the neural activity process of apposition monitoring brain cortex, improve the accuracy of neural activity monitoring.

Specifically, referring to fig. 1 and 2, the substrate 1 is a rectangular sheet structure, and the substrate 1 may be made of a soft material such as silica gel, PDMS, or PI.

The plurality of electrode contacts 2 are regularly arranged on the substrate 1 in multiple rows and multiple columns, and the distance between adjacent electrode contacts 2 can be set to be 8-12mm, preferably 10 mm. It is easily understood that the skilled person can set the number of rows and columns of the electrode contacts 2, the distance between adjacent electrode contacts 2, and the size of the electrode contacts 2 according to the requirement, and the invention is not limited in detail. Therefore, the neural activity in a large area of the cerebral cortex can be synchronously monitored, and the monitoring efficiency and accuracy are improved.

Referring to fig. 3, the electrode contact 2 has a shape of a boss, and an end of the boss is protruded from the surface of the base 1 and exposed to the outside so as to detect an electrical signal of neural activity. The electrode contacts 2 may take the form of circles, squares or other regular geometric shapes. The electrode lead 21 is fixedly connected with the surface of one side of the electrode contact 2 away from the boss, and can be welded specifically. The electrode leads 21 and the electrode contacts 2 are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence manner, and a plurality of electrode leads 21 are led out from one end of the base body 1 extending from the inside of the base body 1 so as to be connected with external signal processing equipment.

The electrode contact 2 may be made of a metal material with a good conductivity, such as platinum-iridium alloy, nickel-chromium alloy, or stainless steel, and may be selected by a person skilled in the art according to the need, and the selection is not specifically limited herein.

Referring to fig. 2 and 3, the optical fiber sensor 3 includes a detection end 31 and a transmission end 32. The detection ends 31 of the optical fiber sensors 3 are uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction of the electrode contact 2, and the transmission ends 32 of the optical fiber sensors 3 are wrapped inside the substrate and extend to the end of the substrate 1 to be led out so as to be connected with external signal processing equipment.

The detection end 31 of the optical fiber sensor 3 is embedded on the substrate 1 and extends out of the surface of the substrate 1, and the detection end 31 of the optical fiber sensor 3 and the electrode contact 2 are exposed outside from the same side of the substrate 1. In order to reduce the damage of the detection end 31 of the optical fiber sensor 3 to the brain tissue, it is preferable to set the distance by which the detection end 31 of the optical fiber sensor 3 protrudes from the base body 1 to be smaller than the distance by which the electrode contact 2 protrudes from the base body 1.

Through set up a plurality of optical fiber sensor 3 in every electrode contact 2's circumference, can gather the metal ion distribution information in the corresponding electrode contact 2 corresponding region, improve the accuracy of neural activity monitoring. In the embodiment of the present application, four optical fiber sensors 3 are arranged in the circumferential direction of each electrode contact 2, but those skilled in the art can set the number of optical fiber sensors 3 in the circumferential direction of each electrode contact 2 as needed.

In the present application, the optical fiber sensor 3 is a structural optical fiber sensor, which includes at least one group of conducting optical fiber bundles, and each group of conducting optical fiber bundles includes two or more optical fiber filaments. Therefore, the optical fiber sensor 3 can collect fluorescence signals in a certain area to form an obtained area image, and accuracy of monitoring the nerve conduction process is improved. For the optical fiber sensor 3, the more the number of the optical fiber bundles is, the more the optical fiber filaments included in each group of the optical fiber bundles are, the better the imaging effect of the corresponding detection area is.

Referring to fig. 1, an injection flow channel is further provided on the base 1, and the injection flow channel is used for injecting a fluorescence indicator into cerebrospinal fluid after the fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode is implanted into the cerebral cortex, so as to improve the efficiency of neurosurgery and research activities and simplify the complicated steps of implanting the electrode after injecting.

Specifically, referring to fig. 1, the injection flow path is formed by an injection tube 4 embedded in a base 1. The injection tube 4 includes a main tube 41 and a plurality of branch tubes 42 connected to the main tube 41. Wherein the main tube 41 is arranged close to the electrode contacts 2 of the same row and extends along the length direction of the row, and the main tube 41 and the optical fiber sensor 3 are led out from the same end of the base body 1 so as to be connected with external injection equipment. The branch pipe 42 connected with the main pipe 41 is positioned between two adjacent electrode contacts 2, the end of the branch pipe 42 far away from the main pipe 41 is flush with the surface of the substrate 1 or extends out of the surface of the substrate 1, the end of the branch pipe 42 is provided with an injection port 43, and the injection port 43 and the detection end 31 of the optical fiber sensor 3 are positioned on the same side of the substrate 1. Thus, the fluorescent indicator can be injected into the cerebrospinal fluid through the injection tube 4 in a relatively uniform manner, improving the accuracy of the neural activity monitoring.

It is easily understood that since the electrode contacts 2 are arranged in a plurality of rows and columns, the number of the injection tubes 4 may be set to be the same as the number of rows of the electrode contacts 2. In the present application, the injection flow path may be provided along the column direction of the electrode contacts 2.

In this application, the injection flow channel may also be formed by a groove disposed inside the substrate 1, the injection flow channel may extend to a position near the detection end 31 of each optical fiber sensor 3, and the liquid outlet of the injection flow channel and the detection end 31 of the optical fiber sensor 3 are located on the same side of the substrate 1. The liquid inlet of the injection flow channel is positioned at the edge of the substrate 1 and is connected with the pipeline of external injection equipment. The injection flow channel in the form of a groove can further improve the uniformity of the distribution of the fluorescent indicator.

In the present application, the substrate 1 may be provided as a two-layer film structure. The first layer of film can be provided with via holes corresponding to the electrode contact 2, the detection end 31 of the optical fiber sensor 3 and the injection runner, and after the electrode contact 2, the optical fiber sensor 3 and the injection pipe 4 are arranged, a second layer of film can be laid on the first layer of film to form a fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode. When the injection runner is formed in a groove form, a corresponding groove can be processed on the first layer of film, and the second layer of film is laid after the processing is finished to form the complete injection runner.

Referring to fig. 4, when the nerve activity of a small area of the cerebral cortex needs to be monitored, the substrate 1 may be set to be a strip-shaped sheet structure, and the plurality of electrode contacts 2 may be uniformly distributed along the length direction of the substrate 1. For example, the number of the electrode contacts 2 may be set to 4 to 8 to meet the requirements of different monitoring accuracies. The distance between the electrode contacts 2, the number of the electrode contacts, and the size of the electrode contacts 2 may be set by those skilled in the art as needed, and are not particularly limited herein. The injection flow channel is arranged in the same manner as the above arrangement, and the description thereof is omitted. Therefore, the fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode has the advantages of small structure and flexible application.

The working principle of the fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode disclosed by the application is as follows:

biologically, the flow of metal ions such as sodium, potassium, calcium, etc. inside and outside the neuronal cell triggers nerve conduction, which generates an electrical signal. When the nerve activity of a local area of the brain is increased, the ion concentration and distribution of the local area are different from those of other normal areas. Therefore, the concentration and distribution of metal ions such as sodium, potassium, calcium and the like inside and outside the nerve cells can directly reflect the activity characteristics of the neurons. The metal ion fluorescent indicator can generate fluorescence when combined with corresponding metal ions, and when the ion concentration and distribution are different, the fluorescence is different in intensity, color and distribution, so that the concentration and distribution of the metal ions related to nerve activities can be indirectly collected in vitro, and powerful data support is provided for doctors to diagnose nervous system diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson. After the fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode is implanted into the cerebral cortex, the fluorescence indicator is injected into cerebrospinal fluid through the injection flow channel, in the neural activity process, the plurality of electrode contacts 2 can detect neuron electric signals, and the optical fiber sensor 3 detects fluorescence signals of corresponding areas. When the electric signal output by the electrode contact 2 and the optical signal output by the optical fiber sensor 3 are output to an external signal processing device, a waveform diagram of the neuron electric signal and the concentration and distribution condition of metal ions in the neuron activity process can be obtained.

The application provides a compound cortex electrode of fluorescence sensing, through gather neuron's signal of telecommunication and metal ion distribution condition in real time, synchronous and apposition, can be when carrying out neurosurgery or neural function research accurate monitoring nerve activity, improved the treatment effect of disease and the accuracy of research.

The above is a preferred embodiment of the present application, and the scope of protection of the present application is not limited by the above, so: all equivalent changes made according to the structure, shape and principle of the present application shall be covered by the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode, comprising:

the electrode structure comprises a base body (1), wherein a plurality of electrode contacts (2) are arranged on the base body (1), and the electrode contacts (2) partially extend out of the base body (1); the electrode contact (2) is connected with an electrode lead (21), and the electrode lead (21) is coated in the substrate (1) and is led out from one end of the substrate (1);

a plurality of optical fiber sensors (3) are uniformly distributed on the circumference of each electrode contact (2), and the optical fiber sensors (3) are used for detecting fluorescence generated when a fluorescence indicator reacts with metal ions in the neuron activity process.

2. The fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the electrode contacts (2) are regularly arranged in a plurality of rows and columns.

3. The fluorescence sensing composite skin electrode according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the electrode contacts (2) are arranged in sequence along the length direction of the substrate (1).

4. The fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode of claim 1, wherein the electrode contact (2) is a platinum iridium alloy, a nickel chromium alloy, or a stainless steel material.

5. The fluorescence sensing composite skin electrode according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber sensor (3) comprises a detection end (31) and a transmission end (32), the detection end (31) partially extends out of the substrate (1), and the transmission end (32) is wrapped inside the substrate (1) and led out of the substrate (1).

6. The fluorescence sensing composite skin electrode according to claim 5, wherein the height of the detection end (31) extending out of the substrate (1) is less than the height of the electrode contact (2) extending out of the substrate (1).

7. The fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode of claim 1, wherein the optical fiber sensor (3) comprises at least one set of conducting fiber bundles, each set of conducting fiber bundles comprising two or more fiber filaments.

8. The fluorescence sensing composite cortical electrode of claim 1, wherein the base body (1) is provided with an injection flow channel for injecting a fluorescence indicator into the cerebral cortex.

9. The fluorescence sensing composite layer electrode according to claim 8, wherein the injection flow channel is formed by an injection tube (4) embedded in the base body (1).

10. The fluorescence sensing composite layer electrode according to claim 8, wherein the injection flow channel is formed by a groove provided inside the base body (1).