A small, light-weight, low-power, multichannel wireless neural recording microsystem.

A small (<1cm(3)), light-weight (<1g including batteries), low power (10mW, lasts 25 hrs), long range (22 ft.), 3-channel wireless neural recording system is designed, fabricated and characterized through in-vitro and in-vivo experiments. The transmitter comprises of an ASIC fabricated in 2-Poly, 2-Metal 1.5 microm AMIS process which can transmit data out wirelessly using on-chip VCO or low power commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) transmitters. The microsystem is employed in collecting neural signals from two different animal models: axons in cockroach leg and forelimb area of the motor cortex of a mature Long Evans rat.

Low-cost wireless neural recording system and software.

We describe a flexible wireless neural recording system, which is comprised of a 15-channel analog FM transmitter, digital receiver and custom user interface software for data acquisition. The analog front-end is constructed from commercial off the shelf (COTS) components and weighs 6.3g (including batteries) and is capable of transmitting over 24 hours up to a range over 3m with a 25microV(rms) in-vivo noise floor. The Software Defined Radio (SDR) and the acquisition software provide a data acquisition platform with real time data display and can be customized based on the specifications of various experiments. The described system was characterized with in-vitro and in-vivo experiments and the results are presented.

A wireless implantable multichannel microstimulating system-on-a-chip with modular architecture.

A 64-site wireless current microstimulator chip (Interestim-2B) and a prototype implant based on the same chip have been developed for neural prosthetic applications. Modular standalone architecture allows up to 32 chips to be individually addressed and operated in parallel to drive up to 2048 stimulating sites. The only off-chip components are a receiver inductive-capacitive (LC) tank, a capacitive low-pass filter for ripple rejection, and arrays of microelectrodes for interfacing with the neural tissue. The implant receives inductive power up to 50 mW and data at 2.5 Mb/s from a frequency shift keyed (FSK) 5/10 MHZ carrier to generate up to 65,800 stimulus pulses/s. Each Interestim-2B chip contains 16 current drivers with 270 microA full-scale current, 5-bit (32-steps) digital-to-analog converter (DAC) resolution, 100 M omega output impedance, and a voltage compliance that extends within 150 and 250 mV of the 5 V supply and ground rails, respectively. It can generate any arbitrary current waveform and supports a variety of monopolar and bipolar stimulation protocols. A common analog line provides access to each site potential, and exhausts residual stimulus charges for charge balancing. The chip has site potential measurement and in situ site impedance measurement capabilities, which help its users indicate defective sites or characteristic shifts in chronic stimulations. Interestim-2B chip is fabricated in the AMI 1.5 microm standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process and measures 4.6 x 4.6 x 0.5 mm. The prototype implant size including test connectors is 19 x 14 x 6 mm, which can be shrunk down to < 0.5 CC. This paper also summarizes some of the in vitro and in vivo experiments performed using the Interestim-2B prototype implant.

A fully integrated mixed-signal neural processor for implantable multichannel cortical recording.

A 64-channel neural processor has been developed for use in an implantable neural recording microsystem. In the Scan Mode, the processor is capable of detecting neural spikes by programmable positive, negative, or window thresholding. Spikes are tagged with their associated channel addresses and formed into 18-bit data words that are sent serially to the external host. In the Monitor Mode, two channels can be selected and viewed at high resolution for studies where the entire signal is of interest. The processor runs from a 3-V supply and a 2-MHz clock, with a channel scan rate of 64 kS/s and an output bit rate of 2 Mbps.

A 1-MHz, 5-Kb/s wireless command receiver for electronic site selection in multichannel neural biopotential recording.

This paper reports on a battery-powered telemetric command receiver for electronic site selection in multichannel neural recording applications. The receiver selects seven recording sites from a total of 28 available sites, according to four pre-defined site-selection patterns, via a 1-MHz, 5-Kb/s, amplitude-shift-keyed (ASK) link. The seven selected sites can then be wirelessly monitored via a 100-MHz frequency-modulated (FM) link. The receiver also performs power management to increase battery service lifetime. A bidirectional wireless recording microsystem incorporating this receiver is fabricated on a 4.6times4.6-mm(2) chip using the AMI 1.5 microm 2P2M n-well CMOS process. Design methodology and architecture of the receiver together with measurement results from its wireless analog front-end are presented.

Generic controller dedicated to telemetry-controlled microsystems.

This paper introduces a generic controller designed for telemetry-controlled microsystems. This controller receives a data packet through a serial link carrying a command word and the associated data, and is capable of generating a variety of control/timing signals according to the definition of the received command. The flexible microprogrammed architecture of the controller allows for defining the commands functions in an on-chip mask-programmable read-only memory.

A neural signal processor for an implantable multi-channel cortical recording microsystem.

A 64-channel neural processor has been developed for use in an implantable neural recording microsystem. In the scan mode, the processor is capable of detecting positive, negative, and biphasic spikes with programmable thresholds. It collects action potential information from the input channels, tags the activities with the associated channel address, compresses and finally packs the activity information in a serial digital bit stream to be sent to an external host. In the monitor mode, two channels can be selected and viewed at high resolution for studies where the entire signal is of interest.

Wireless multichannel biopotential recording using an integrated FM telemetry circuit.

This paper presents a four-channel telemetric microsystem featuring on-chip alternating current amplification, direct current baseline stabilization, clock generation, time-division multiplexing, and wireless frequency-modulation transmission of microvolt- and millivolt-range input biopotentials in the very high frequency band of 94-98 MHz over a distance of approximately 0.5 m. It consists of a 4.84-mm2 integrated circuit, fabricated using a 1.5-microm double-poly double-metal n-well standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor process, interfaced with only three off-chip components on a custom-designed printed-circuit board that measures 1.7 x 1.2 x 0.16 cm3, and weighs 1.1 g including two miniature 1.5-V batteries. We characterize the microsystem performance, operating in a truly wireless fashion in single-channel and multichannel operation modes, via extensive benchtop and in vitro tests in saline utilizing two different micromachined neural recording microelectrodes, while dissipating approximately 2.2 mW from a 3-V power supply. Moreover, we demonstrate successful wireless in vivo recording of spontaneous neural activity at 96.2 MHz from the auditory cortex of an awake marmoset monkey at several transmission distances ranging from 10 to 50 cm with signal-to-noise ratios in the range of 8.4-9.5 dB.

A 1.48-mW low-phase-noise analog frequency modulator for wireless biotelemetry.

This paper presents a low-phase-noise, hybrid LC-tank, analog frequency modulator for wireless biotelemetry employing on-chip NMOS varactors in the inversion region as the frequency tuning element. We demonstrate that a correct estimate for the destination signal-to-noise ratio, which quantifies the quality of the wirelessly received signal in a frequency-modulated biotelemetry system, is only achieved after taking into account the large-signal oscillation effect on the tank varactor. A prototype chip is fabricated using AMI 1.5-microm double-poly double-metal n-well CMOS process, and exhibits a measured gain factor of 1.21 MHz/V in the mid-range of the tuning voltage and a phase noise of -88.6 dBc/Hz at 10-kHz offset from the 95.1-MHz carrier while dissipating 1.48 mW from a 3 V power supply leading to a figure of merit (FOM) of -166.5 dBc/Hz. The VCO is successfully interfaced with a penetrating silicon microelectrode with 700 microm2 iridium recording sites for wireless in vitro recording of a 50 Hz simulated normal sinus rhythm signal from saline over a distance of approximately 0.25 m. Given a typical gain of approximately 40 dB for fully integrated front-end bioamplifiers, a wireless recording microsystem employing this VCO would be capable of detecting input biopotentials down to the submilivolt range.

A compact large voltage-compliance high output-impedance programmable current source for implantable microstimulators.

A new CMOS current source is described for biomedical implantable microstimulator applications, which utilizes MOS transistors in deep triode region as linearized voltage controlled resistors (VCR). The VCR current source achieves large voltage compliance, up to 97% of the supply voltage, while maintaining high output impedance in the 100 MOmega range to keep the stimulus current constant within 1% of the desired value irrespective of the site and tissue impedances. This approach improves stimulation efficiency, extends power supply lifetime, and saves chip area especially when the stimulation current level is high in the milliampere range. A prototype 4-channel microstimulator chip is fabricated in the AMI 1.5-microm, 2-metal, 2-poly, n-well standard CMOS process. With a 5-V supply, each stimulating site driver provides at least 425-V compliance and > 10 MOmega output impedance, while sinking up to 210 microA, and occupies 0.05 mm2 in chip area. A modular 32-site wireless neural stimulation microsystem, utilizing the VCR current source, is under development.

A fully integrated neural recording amplifier with DC input stabilization.

This paper presents a low-power low-noise fully integrated bandpass operational amplifier for a variety of biomedical neural recording applications. A standard two-stage CMOS amplifier in a closed-loop resistive feedback configuration provides a stable ac gain of 39.3 dB at 1 kHz. A subthreshold PMOS input transistor is utilized to clamp the large and random dc open circuit potentials that normally exist at the electrode-electrolyte interface. The low cutoff frequency of the amplifier is programmable up to 50 Hz, while its high cutoff frequency is measured to be 9.1 kHz. The tolerable dc input range is measured to be at least +/- 0.25 V with a dc rejection factor of at least 29 dB. The amplifier occupies 0.107 mm2 in die area, and dissipates 115 microW from a 3 V power supply. The total measured input-referred noise voltage in the frequency range of 0.1-10 kHz is 7.8 microVrms. It is fabricated using AMI 1.5 microm double-poly double-metal n-well CMOS process. This paper presents full characterization of the dc, ac, and noise performance of this amplifier through in vitro measurements in saline using two different neural recording electrodes.

A multichannel monolithic wireless microstimulator.

A 64-site wireless current microstimulator chip (Interestim-2B) and a prototype implant based on this chip have been developed for neural prosthesis applications. Modular stand-alone architecture allows up to 32 such chips to be connected in parallel to drive 2048 sites. The only off-chip components are a receiver inductive-capacitive (LC) tank and microelectrode arrays such as silicon probes for intracortical stimulation. The implant receives inductive power and data at 2.5 Mb/sec from a frequency shift keyed carrier to generate up to 65,800 stimulus pulses/sec. Each chip contains 16 current drivers with 270 microA full-scale current, 5-bit resolution, 100 MOmega output impedance, and a dynamic range that extends within 150 mV of the 5 V supply rail. The chip and implant (without probes) measure 4.6 x 4.6 x 0.5 and 19 x 14 x 6 (mm), respectively.

Long-term recordings from afferent taste fibers.

The receptor cells of taste buds have a life span of about 10 days but it is not known if response characteristics of these receptors alter during the turnover cycle. To examine taste cell responses over time, a micromachined polyimide sieve electrode array was implanted between the cut ends of the rat chorda tympani nerve, which then regenerated through the electrode array. Long-term stable recordings from regenerated single afferent fibers innervating taste buds were possible using this technique for up to 21 days. Responses to taste stimuli recorded from the same fiber changed with time. The changes occurred in both the magnitude of response and the relative response profiles to four chemical stimuli, NaCl, sucrose, HCl, and quinine HCl. These changes in response characteristics were hypothesized to result from changes in the taste receptor cells as the receptor cells turnover in the taste buds.