Brain implant can be injected directly into the brain from a syringe

Brain implant can be injected directly into the brain from a syringe, minimizing damage to brain tissue and can be applied without invasive surgery.

"The flexible mesh imitates the interconnecting structure of the neural network and the softness of brain tissue, and is made of materials that the immune system is less likely to reject, so it seems to create less scarring in the brain when it has been inserted.

The incredibly small mesh implant has "very fine metal lines" of circuitry embedded, with electrodes and sensors mounted at the intersections of the wires. By curling the flexible implant, the researchers were able to fit a 1.5 centimeter wide square of mesh up into a syringe with an opening less than half a millimeter wide.

Once injected into the brain, the mesh unfolds to about 80% of its original shape without loss of function. The external wires of the mesh can then be plugged to a computer to monitor and stimulate individual neurons. "