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Extra Long, Flexible Fiber-Optic Implants for Optogenetic Stimulation of Peripheral Nerves
Posted by Nathaniel Sperka on 3rd Dec 2015
While at SfN 2015 in Chicago quite a few people that stopped by the Prizmatix booth asked how they could optically stimulate neurons in parts of the body far from the brain. One researcher explained that due to the NIH’s SPARC program, there is an increased interest in researching peripheral nerves. Their plan was to implant a ferrule in the skull and thread an optical fiber through the spinal column. The problem was that the fibers needed to be very flexible and the glass fibers that these researchers were using could not do the job.
Fortunately, we had the perfect solution at our booth.
Originally designed as implantable Fiber Optics for Tetrode Drives, we had implants made with 10cm long plastic fibers on display at our booth. The folks we spoke with were very surprised and excited by the flexibility of these plastic fibers. The high NA of the fibers used in these extra-long cannulas make them perfect for use with PrizmatixOptogenetic-LEDs. We hope that these extra-long fiber-optic implants will be used successfully to activate opsins wherever they might be.
Feel free to contact us or leave comments below with your questions and ideas.