Polymers for Neural Implants
by Christina Hassler, Tim Boretius, Thomas Stieglitz
The paper is discussing neural implants, technical systems that restore sensory or motor functions after injury and modulate neural behavior in neuronal diseases. According to the abstract the interface between the nervous tissue and the technical material is the place that determines success or failure of the neural implant. Polymers are the most common material class for substrate and insulation materials in combination with metals for interconnection wires and electrode sites. The paper focuses on the neuro-technical interface and summarizes its fundamental specifications first. The most common polymer materials are presented and described in detail. An overview is proposed also, of the different applications and their specific designs with the accompanying manufacturing processes.
2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym
Sci Part B: Polym Phys 49: 18–33, 2011
