Modular, reconfigurable fiber-based neural probe (MoRF probe) with interchangeable and tunable optical waveguide, microfluidic channel, and microelectrodes

Abstract

Neuroscience is at an exciting juncture at which large-scale in vivo electrophysiology, including in humans, is intersecting symbiotically with revolutionary computational and statistical methods. Maintaining this relationship requires increasingly advanced neural probes for multimodal interrogation of neural circuitry (e.g. perturbation experiments are of value to computational modeling). Here, we developed a low cost modular and reconfigurable recording and stimulation fiber-based neural probe (MoRF) fabricated via a first step thermal drawing process (TDP) and a second step thermal tapering process (TTP). We demonstrated the device modularity and reconfigurability in several functional variations of the same device, as well as the ability to adjust the distance between different sensing elements. We validated the electrical, optical and microfluidic drug delivery performance of the MoRF probe and demonstrated its in vivo electrophysiological recording and optogenetic stimulation capabilities in awake mice.