In order for humanity, which has achieved advanced social activities, to liberate existing constraints and challenges, it is essential to understand brain activity, develop technologies to access brain activity, and utilize them effectively. By understanding and controlling digital technologies, quantum technologies, and others, humanity has created superior cyberspace and seamlessly connected them with the physical world, thereby enhancing societal safety, security, and convenience. On the other hand, the number of patients with brain-related diseases and central nervous system disorders is rapidly increasing, and digital technologies and quantum technologies have yet to provide a glimpse of a solution. This is because there is a critical shortage of measurement technologies capable of accurately measuring advanced brain activity, measurement data for statistical analysis of brain activity, and methods for constructing brain big data. In response, brain machine interfaces (BMIs) capable of measuring brain activity have been developed; however, they have so far been dominated by either non-invasive yet low-precision systems (Figure 1, left) or highly invasive systems that require craniotomy (Figure 1, right). This project is conducting research and development to construct a “flexible, ultra-thin BMI system” that achieves high measurement accuracy of brain information with minimal invasiveness.

・Validation of minimally invasive BMI systems

Figure 3 left schematically shows the developed device placed inside a blood vessel in the brain. We are conducting the development with the goal of enabling access to brain activity information with minimal invasiveness by utilizing intravascular treatment technology without the need for surgical craniotomy. Currently, the medical-engineering collaboration team developing this device is conducting device verification experiments at a medical-device R&D facility (Figure 3, right). We have made progress in our research and development, including the establishment of a method for transporting flexible probes for minimally invasive BMI to cerebral veins and the achievement of long-term probe implantation for 49 days.