In 2004, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov at the University of Manchester in England achieved a significant breakthrough by isolating graphene for the first time. Graphene, a flat form of carbon composed of a single layer of atoms, is the thinnest known material and one of the strongest. This discovery earned Geim and Novoselov the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010.
Two decades later, graphene is being incorporated into batteries, sensors, semiconductors, air conditioners, and headphones. Recently, it is also being tested for use in the human brain.
Today, surgeons at the University of Manchester temporarily placed a thin, Scotch-tape-like graphene implant on a patient’s cortex, the brain’s outermost layer. This technology, produced by Spanish company InBrain Neuroelectronics, is a type of brain-computer interface (BCI) that collects and decodes brain signals. InBrain is among several companies, including Elon Musk’s Neuralink, developing BCIs.
“We are aiming to have a commercial product that can do brain decoding and brain mapping and could be used in a variety of disorders,” stated Carolina Aguilar, InBrain’s CEO and cofounder.
Brain mapping is a critical technique used to plan brain surgeries. For instance, during brain tumor removal, electrodes are placed on the brain to determine the locations of motor and speech functions, enabling surgeons to safely excise the tumor without affecting these essential abilities.
In the recent procedure, the graphene implant was installed for 79 minutes. The patient, who was already undergoing brain surgery to remove a tumor, consented to the experimental procedure. During this time, researchers observed that the InBrain device was able to distinguish between healthy and cancerous brain tissue with micrometer-scale precision.
The University of Manchester hosts InBrain’s first-in-human study, testing the graphene device in up to 10 patients already undergoing brain surgery for various reasons. Funded by the European Commission’s Graphene Flagship project, the study aims to demonstrate the safety of graphene in direct contact with the human brain.
David Coope, the neurosurgeon who performed the procedure, noted that the InBrain device is more flexible than conventional electrodes, allowing it to better conform to the brain’s surface. “From a surgical perspective, it means we can probably put it in places where we would find it difficult to put an electrode,” he explained. Traditional electrodes used for brain mapping are typically made of platinum iridium set in silicon, making them relatively stiff.
In contrast, the InBrain device is a transparent sheet half the thickness of a human hair, containing 48 tiny graphene electrodes, each measuring just 25 micrometers. The company is also developing a second type of implant that can penetrate brain tissue and deliver precise electrical stimulation.
While the surface device can be used for brain mapping alone, Aguilar mentioned that the company aims to integrate the two devices and eventually test them together as a treatment for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.
