Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Testing The Efficiency Of Vertically Aligned Gold Nanowires On A Titanium Needle Implantable Neural Electrodes In The Rattus Norvegicus Hippocampus, Lauren Kegley

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Miniaturized multi-electrode arrays are MEMS devices that have found use as neural prosthetics (Neuro-MEMS). As implants they can interface with neurons as sensors or actuators and help compensate for loss of sensory input, motor control, or cognitive function. The micro-electrodes, studied here, were developed in-house. They have a vertically aligned gold nanowire array and are mounted on a sturdy fine gauge titanium needle. Hence, the bill of materials and design characteristics encourage its use as neural probe. For this study, a probe was tested in vivo for signal acquisition in the hippocampus of a Rattus Norvegicus (Sprague Dawley Rat). Using …