Projects

The most prominent application examples that use light in the neurosciences are optogenetics and near-infrared spectroscopy. Optogenetics offers the possibility to selectively stimulate or inhibit nerve cell responses upon the incidence of light at certain (visible) wavelengths. The fundamentals for near-infrared spectroscopy applications are based on different absorbance characteristics for oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin. This enables to determine e.g. cerebral or somatic hemodynamics. There is tremendous request for stable and reliable devices (so called optrodes) to enable long-term in vivo measurements. Within this project we aim to develop a hermetic micropackage for light sources to overcome the lack of stability and reliability. Building a micropackage with a transparent lid additionally allows the integration of certain beam-shaping functionalities, which will lead to an increased light intensity in a decreased spot size. Combining the hermetic micropackages with flexible Polyimide- or silicone multielectrode arrays is a step towards a reliable implantable optrode.