Center for Neuroprosthetics

Viscoelastic electrodes for heart and brain stimulation and recording

Published:18.06.21 — Scientists from the Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces demonstrate a new generation of flexible, viscoelastic, comformable electrodes that can be put at the surface of muscles, the heart and the brain, for stimulation and recording. These electrodes, made of graphene flakes and carbon nanotubes, are embeded in an ultraflexible alginate hydrogel, and can thus comform to complex shapes with reduced damage to surrounding tissues and better signal quality. The study was conducted with colleagues from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, the Harvard-MIT division in Health Science and Technology, Harvard University, the University of Manchester, and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia.

Next-generation implants will be biodegradable and non-invasive

Published:18.06.21 — EPFL engineers have developed a neural interface that disappears harmlessly in the body after several months and allows natural tissue to grow back. What’s more, it can be implanted in a patient’s blood vessel rather than inside the brain, thereby avoiding the need for invasive surgery.

Tailored optical stimulation for the blind

Published:17.06.21 — EPFL scientists in a European collaboration propose a personalized protocol for optimizing stimulation of optic nerve fibers, for the blind, which takes into account feedback from the viewer’s brain. The protocol has been tested on artificial neural networks known to simulate the physiology of the entire visual system, from the eye to the visual cortex. The stimulation protocol will be tested in clinical trials with partners in Rome.

Silvestro Micera receives 2021 EMBS Technical Achievement Award

Published:10.06.21 — Professor Silvestro Micera, from the School of Engineering’s Translational Neural Engineering Lab (TNE), has been awarded the 2021 EMBS Technical Achievement Award.

EPFL Professors win 2021 Leenaards Foundation Science Prizes

Published:02.06.21 — EPFL Professors Elisa Oricchio and Gregoire Courtine, have been awarded Leenaards Science Prizes for their research projects.