A Flexible and Stretchable Kirigami-Inspired Implantable Neural Probe with Floating Microsites for Electrophysiology Recordings

This paper reports on a flexible and stretchable neural probe based on polyimide (PI) which has excellent robustness and biocompatibility. For the first time, the kirigami structure is designed in the flexible probe substrate, and the composite Young's modulus of the flexible probe decreases from 2.5Gpa to 2KPa which will enhance adaptability of the probe in the micromotion of the brain tissue. Hundreds of cyclic stretching tests verified the flexibility and effectiveness of the neural probe. In addition, it has been proved in vitro that the probe can be easily implanted into the tissue by steel needle.