A multi-channel analog IC for in vitro neural recording

Recent work in the field of neurophysiology has demonstrated that, by observing the firing characteristic of action potentials (AP) and the exchange pattern of signals between neurons, it is possible to reveal the nature of "memory" and "thinking" and help humans to understand how the brain works. To address these needs, we developed a prototype fully integrated circuit (IC) with micro-electrode array (MEA) for neural recording. In this scheme, the microelectrode array is composed by 64 detection electrodes and 2 reference electrodes. The proposed IC consists of 8 recording channels with an area of 5 × 5 mm². Each channel can operate independently to process the neural signal by amplifying, filtering, etc. The chip is fabricated in 0.5-μm CMOS technology. The simulated and measured results show the system provides an effective device for recording feeble signal such as neural signals. (paper)