Fully implantable optoelectronic systems for battery-free, multimodal operation in neuroscience research

Abstract

Recently developed ultrasmall, fully implantable devices for optogenetic neuromodulation eliminate the physical tethers associated with conventional set-ups and avoid the bulky head-stages and batteries found in alternative wireless technologies. The resulting systems allow behavioural studies without motion constraints and enable experiments in a range of environments and contexts, such as social interactions. However, these devices are purely passive in their electronic design, thereby precluding any form of active control or programmability; independent operation of multiple devices, or of multiple active components in a single device, is, in particular, impossible. Here we report optoelectronic systems that, through developments in integrated circuit and antenna design, provide low-power operation, and position- and angle-independent wireless power harvesting, with full user-programmability over individual devices and collections of them. Furthermore, these integrated platforms have sizes and weights that are not significantly larger than those of previous, passive systems. Our results qualitatively expand options in output stabilization, intensity control and multimodal operation, with broad potential applications in neuroscience research and, in particular, the precise dissection of neural circuit function during unconstrained behavioural studies.