US-20260123870-A1 - Mesoscopic Electrophysiology Device and Related Methods

US20260123870A1US 20260123870 A1US20260123870 A1US 20260123870A1US-20260123870-A1

Abstract

Provided herein is a mesoscopic electrophysiological system including a structural system sized and configured to be attached to a head of a patient and to hold a plurality of intracranial electrode shafts in predetermined positions around the head of the patient, a plurality of mesoscopic intracranial electrode shafts that includes a first plurality of electrode contacts configured to measure local field potentials (LFPs) at a plurality of locations in a brain of a patient, wherein each electrode shaft of the plurality of intracranial electrode shafts includes a second plurality of electrode contacts, and a plurality of guide pins sized and configured to receive the plurality of mesoscopic intracranial electrode shafts positioned therein.

Inventors

Tobias Teichert

Assignees

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH - OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251106

Claims (20)

1 . A mesoscopic electrophysiological system for recording electrophysiological aspects of a brain of a patient, comprising: a structural system sized and configured to be attached to a head of a patient and to hold a plurality of intracranial electrode shafts in predetermined positions around the head of the patient; a plurality of mesoscopic intracranial electrode shafts that comprises a first plurality of electrode contacts configured to measure local field potentials (LFPs) at a plurality of locations in a brain of a patient, wherein each electrode shaft of the plurality of intracranial electrode shafts comprises a second plurality of electrode contacts; and a plurality of guide pins sized and configured to receive the plurality of mesoscopic intracranial electrode shafts positioned therein; wherein the first plurality of electrode contacts forms a three-dimensional grid within the head of the patient.
2 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 1 , wherein the second plurality of contacts is configured to provide electrical micro-stimulation to the plurality of locations in the brain of the patient.
3 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 1 , wherein each guide pin of the plurality of guide pins comprises an interior channel, and wherein a sterile grease is provided in the interior channel of one or more guide pins of the plurality of guide pins.
4 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 3 , wherein each guide pin of the plurality of guide pins comprises a vent connected to the interior channel, and wherein the vent provides a path for the sterile grease to travel when a mesoscopic intracranial electrode shaft is positioned within the interior channel of a guide pin.
5 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 1 , wherein the second plurality of electrode contacts have variable inter-electrode spacing in range between 250 μm and 3.5 mm.
6 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 1 , further comprising: at least one processor configured to: receive data associated with the LFPs in the brain of the patient from a subset of the first plurality of electrode contacts; generate a representation of a functional connectivity profile for the patient based on the data associated with the LFPs in the brain of the patient; and transmit the representation of the functional connectivity profile for the patient to a communications device.
7 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of electrode contacts is configured to provide at least 1,000 channels for measuring the LFPs at the plurality of locations in the brain of the patient.
8 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of electrode contacts is configured to measure the LFPs at the plurality of locations in the brain of the patient at a sampling rate in a range between 20 kHz and 30 kHz.
9 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 1 , wherein the structural system comprises: a crown component comprising a top section and an annular section, wherein the crown component is configured to be anchored to a skull of the patient via fasteners inserted through the annular section; a semi-spherical grid component comprising a first structure having a first plurality of apertures, wherein the structure corresponds to a shape of a skull of the patient, and wherein the semi-spherical grid component is positioned within the crown component; a wall component comprising a base section and a top section, wherein the base section is configured to connect to the top section of the crown component; and a grid component comprising a second structure having a second plurality of apertures, wherein the grid component is configured to fit within the wall component and is configured to receive the plurality of guide pins within the second plurality of apertures, and wherein the second plurality of apertures align with at least a portion of the first plurality of apertures to allow for the plurality of intracranial electrode shafts to be inserted into the brain of the patient.
10 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 9 , wherein the second plurality of apertures of the grid component are spaced apart in an antero-posterior direction and medio-later direction by a dimension in a range between 4 mm and 5 mm.
11 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 9 , wherein one or more apertures of the second plurality of apertures has an inner diameter equal to 1.5 mm.
12 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 9 , wherein the structural system comprises: a cap component comprising a cap section and a cap top section, wherein the cap section comprises a wall having a peripheral aperture, wherein the wall defines a main aperture, wherein the cap section is configured to connect to the top section of the wall component, wherein the cap top section is configured to cover the main aperture of the wall, and wherein the peripheral aperture is sized and configured to allow for cables that connect to the intracranial electrode shafts to pass therethrough.
13 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 5 , wherein the semi-spherical grid component comprises a plurality of electroencephalogram (EEG) electrodes that are positioned to contact a surface of the head of the patient when the structural system is placed on the head of the patient.
14 . A mesoscopic electrophysiological system for recording electrophysiological aspects of a brain of a patient, comprising: a structural system sized and configured to be attached to a head of a patient and to hold a plurality of intracranial electrode shafts in predetermined positions around the head of the patient; a plurality of mesoscopic intracranial electrode shafts that comprises a plurality of electrode contacts configured to measure local field potentials (LFPs) at a plurality of locations in a brain of a patient; and a plurality of guide pins sized and configured to receive the plurality of mesoscopic intracranial electrode shafts positioned therein; wherein the plurality of electrode contacts forms a three-dimensional grid within the head of the patient.
15 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 14 , wherein each guide pin of the plurality of guide pins comprises an interior channel, and wherein a sterile grease is provided in the interior channel of one or more guide pins of the plurality of guide pins.
16 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 15 , wherein each guide pin of the plurality of guide pins comprises a vent connected to the interior channel, and wherein the vent provides a path for the sterile grease to travel when a mesoscopic intracranial electrode shaft is positioned within the interior channel of a guide pin.
17 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 14 , wherein the second plurality of electrode contacts have variable inter-electrode spacing in range between 250 μm and 3.5 mm.
18 . The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of claim 14 , wherein the first plurality of electrode contacts is configured to provide at least 1,000 channels for measuring the LFPs at the plurality of locations in the brain of the patient, and wherein the plurality of electrode contacts is configured to measure the LFPs at the plurality of locations in the brain of the patient at a sampling rate in a range between 20 kHz and 30 kHz.
19 . A method of monitoring a plurality of local field potentials (LFPs) within a patient's brain, comprising: affixing, to the patient, a mesoscopic electrophysiological system for recording electrophysiological aspects of a brain of a patient, the system comprising: a structural system sized and configured to be attached to a head of a patient and to hold a plurality of intracranial electrode shafts in predetermined positions around the head of the patient; a plurality of mesoscopic intracranial electrode shafts that comprises a plurality of electrode contacts configured to measure the LFPs at a plurality of locations in a brain of a patient, the plurality of electrode contacts forming a three-dimensional grid within the head of the patient; a plurality of guide pins sized and configured to receive the plurality of mesoscopic intracranial electrode shafts positioned therein; at least one processor configured to: receive data associated with the LFPs in the brain of the patient from a subset of the first plurality of electrode contacts; generate a representation of a functional connectivity profile for the patient based on the data associated with the LFPs in the brain of the patient; and transmit the representation of the functional connectivity profile for the patient to a communications device; and detecting, with the plurality of electrode contacts, a plurality of baseline LFPs.
20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising, after detecting the plurality of baseline LFPs: administering to the patient a compound of interest and detecting, with the first plurality of electrode contacts, a plurality of post-administration LFPs.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 63/717,487, filed Nov. 7, 2024, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH This invention was made with government support under MH114223 awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The government has certain rights in the invention. BACKGROUND Field Provided herein are devices, systems, and methods for monitoring brain activity and effects of interventions on brain activity. Description of Related Art The brain is a highly interconnected organ whose functional connectome can only be understood by recording from the entire brain in parallel, rather than parts of it in sequence. Hence, the ability to record full-brain functional connectivity maps with sub-millimeter spatial resolution is at the core of the appeal of fMRI. However, the temporal resolution of the fMRI functional connectome is limited by the relatively slow hemodynamic response. In contrast to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electrophysiological approaches have excellent temporal resolution. However, they either 1) do not cover the entire brain, as is the case for microscopic intracranial recordings, or 2) have relatively poor spatial resolution, as is the case for macroscopic recordings, such as electroencephalogram (EEG). Here, we aimed to develop a new mesoscopic electrophysiological recording platform that combines the excellent temporal resolution of electrophysiology with the whole-brain coverage of fMRI, while maintaining sufficient spatial resolution for network-based connectivity analyses. To date, such mesoscopic whole-brain approaches have been largely neglected in the non-human primate, thus leaving a valuable source of information untapped. SUMMARY Accordingly, it is an object of the presently disclosed subject matter to provide a mesoscopic electrophysiological system for monitoring brain activity and effects of interventions on brain activity. Further non-limiting embodiments or aspects will be set forth in the following numbered clauses: Clause 1: A mesoscopic electrophysiological system for recording electrophysiological aspects of a brain of a patient, comprising: a structural system sized and configured to be attached to a head of a patient and to hold a plurality of intracranial electrode shafts in predetermined positions around the head of the patient; a plurality of mesoscopic intracranial electrode shafts that comprises a first plurality of electrode contacts configured to measure local field potentials (LFPs) at a plurality of locations in a brain of a patient, wherein each electrode shaft of the plurality of intracranial electrode shafts comprises a second plurality of electrode contacts; and a plurality of guide pins sized and configured to receive the plurality of mesoscopic intracranial electrode shafts positioned therein; wherein the first plurality of electrode contacts forms a three-dimensional grid within the head of the patient.Clause 2: The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of clause 1, wherein the second plurality of contacts is configured to provide electrical micro-stimulation to the plurality of locations in the brain of the patient.Clause 3: The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of clauses 1 or 2,wherein each guide pin of the plurality of guide pins comprises an interior channel, and wherein a sterile grease is provided in the interior channel of one or more guide pins of the plurality of guide pins.Clause 4: The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of any of clauses 1-3, wherein each guide pin of the plurality of guide pins comprises a vent connected to the interior channel, and wherein the vent provides a path for the sterile grease to travel when a mesoscopic intracranial electrode shaft is positioned within the interior channel of a guide pin.Clause 5: The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of any of clauses 1-4, wherein the second plurality of electrode contacts have variable inter-electrode spacing in range between 250 μm and 3.5 mm.Clause 6: The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of any of clauses 1-5, further comprising: at least one processor configured to: receive data associated with the LFPs in the brain of the patient from a subset of the first plurality of electrode contacts; generate a representation of a functional connectivity profile for the patient based on the data associated with the LFPs in the brain of the patient; and transmit the representation of the functional connectivity profile for the patient to a communications device.Clause 7: The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of any of clauses 1-6, wherein the first plurality of electrode contacts is configured to provide at least 1,000 channels for measuring the LFPs at the plurality of locations in the brain of the patient.Clause 8: The mesoscopic electrophysiological system of any of clauses 1-7, wherein the fir