‘Origami-inspired’ folding electrodes could reduce surgery needed to treat brain conditions

However, this often requires surgeons to cut out a large window in the skull (a craniotomy) to place electrodes directly onto the brain surface. Tom Shillito, Health Improvement & Research Manager, Epilepsy ActionThe new study, published in Nature Communications, demonstrated that using a folding design for brain electrodes could reduce the incision area needed by about five times, without affecting functionality. Illustration of the origami-inspired electrode array unfolding on the surface of the brain after minimally invasive surgical implantation. Besides epilepsy, this approach could be used to diagnose and treat other conditions that result in brain seizures, such as certain brain tumours.’Thin-film soft robotic electrode array designed for safer and less invasive epilepsy surgical mapping. Anything that reduces the invasive nature of brain surgery and the risk of infection has to be welcomed, particularly if it promises a shorter recovery time.