High-resolution BCI via minimally invasive cranial micro-slit electrode insertion (Nature Biomedical Engineering 2025)
Summary
Published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, this study demonstrated a thin flexible microelectrode array that can be slid through a small slit in the skull onto the brain surface — a minimally invasive alternative to craniotomy. The system recorded and stimulated neural activity across broad cortical areas with high resolution in both animal models and human pilot studies, achieving BCI performance competitive with conventional open-skull implantation.
Why it matters
Skull-slit insertion of a large-area electrode array without craniotomy is a potential paradigm shift for cortical BCI surgery. If high-resolution cortical recording can be achieved through a millimetre-scale incision rather than removing a skull section, the surgery becomes dramatically less risky and more widely accessible — potentially enabling BCI as a day-procedure.
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