The Next Biodegradable Electronics for Minimally Invasive Implantation for Brain Cortex

Biodegradable electronic devices are gaining prominence as minimally invasive tools that mitigate issues such as biofilm formation due to residual foreign-body materials and infections and hemorrhage arising from secondary removal surgeries. Over the past few years, various implantable medical devices using biodegradable organic and inorganic hybrid materials have demonstrated the feasibility of biodegradable electronics. Notably, these include sensors for monitoring raised intracranial pressure due to traumatic brain injuries with a latency period, and wireless electrical stimulators to promote peripheral nerve regeneration. Systems that use electrical stimulation to control drug delivery can also serve as short-term post-operative drug treatment technologies. However, a limitation of existing biodegradable electronic devices is the need for an implantation process, which unavoidably involves surgical burden. In this presentation, we introduce representative examples of implantable biodegradable electronic devices noted in above. Furthermore, we explore the concept of injectable electronic devices as a means to minimize invasiveness during the implantation process, examining this through the application of large-area signal measurement in the cerebral cortex.