The Biorobotics Institute, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, Italy.
Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Translational Neuroengineering, Centre for Neuroprosthetics and Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, CH-1202, Switzerland.
Adv Healthc Mater. 2019 Dec;8(24):e1801345. doi: 10.1002/adhm.201801345. Epub 2019 Nov 25.
Neuroprosthetics and neuromodulation represent a promising field for several related applications in the central and peripheral nervous system, such as the treatment of neurological disorders, the control of external robotic devices, and the restoration of lost tactile functions. These actions are allowed by the neural interface, a miniaturized implantable device that most commonly exploits electrical energy to fulfill these operations. A neural interface must be biocompatible, stable over time, low invasive, and highly selective; the challenge is to develop a safe, compact, and reliable tool for clinical applications. In case of anatomical impairments, neuroprosthetics is bound to the need of exploring the surrounding environment by fast-responsive and highly sensitive artificial tactile sensors that mimic the natural sense of touch. Tactile sensors and neural interfaces are closely interconnected since the readouts from the first are required to convey information to the neural implantable apparatus. The role of these devices is pivotal hence technical improvements are essential to ensure a secure system to be eventually adopted in daily life. This review highlights the fundamental criteria for the design and microfabrication of neural interfaces and artificial tactile sensors, their use in clinical applications, and future enhancements for the release of a second generation of devices.
神经假体和神经调节代表了一个有前途的领域，可用于中枢和外周神经系统的几个相关应用，如治疗神经疾病、控制外部机器人设备和恢复丧失的触觉功能。这些操作是通过神经接口实现的，神经接口是一种小型化的可植入设备，最常用于利用电能来完成这些操作。神经接口必须具有生物相容性、随时间稳定、低侵入性和高度选择性；挑战在于开发一种安全、紧凑和可靠的工具，用于临床应用。在解剖损伤的情况下，神经假体必须通过快速响应和高灵敏度的人工触觉传感器来探索周围环境，这些传感器模仿自然触觉。触觉传感器和神经接口是紧密相互关联的，因为第一个传感器的读数需要将信息传递到神经植入设备。因此，这些设备的作用至关重要，因此技术改进是必不可少的，以确保最终在日常生活中采用安全系统。这篇综述强调了神经接口和人工触觉传感器的设计和微制造的基本标准、它们在临床应用中的使用以及为发布第二代设备进行的未来改进。
