Liquid crystal polymer (LCP)-based neural prosthetic devices

Abstract

Polymers are increasingly being used in implantable biomedical applications owing to their flexibility and compatibility with micro-fabrication processes. A liquid crystal polymer (LCP) is an inert, highly water-resistant polymer that is suitable for the encapsulation of electronic components and as a substrate material for fabricating neural interfaces. Therefore, the monolithic integration of a neural interface and electronics packaging is enabled by the use of an LCP, which has salient benefits in terms of performance and reliability. For these reasons, LCPs have been studied extensively as a base material for neural prosthetic devices. In this paper, we review recently developed enabling technologies, and demonstrate prototype devices and their performance capabilities. Lifetime estimations and technical challenges of LCP-based neural prosthetic devices are also described. © 2016, Korean Society of Medical and Biological Engineering and Springer.