Screwless, patient-specific cranial implant for neural access

This technology describes screwless cranial implants that are custom fit to individual skulls and provide broad neural access for sensing and stimulation.

Unmet Need: Robust, minimally invasive cranial implants

Cranial windows are necessary for using neural-electronic interfaces to study and treat the brain. However, affixing the interface devices to the skull remains a technical challenge. The current standard approach is bone screws that are invasive and may cause mechanical failure by concentrating forces onto a small area of the skull. A faultless cranial implant is crucial to ensure biomechanical protection of the brain. Since the skull shape varies among patients, it is important to customize the implant for individual patients.

The Technology: Screwless, skull-fit titanium implant with broad neural access

This technology describes custom-fit titanium cranial implants with broad neural access that adhere to the inferior surface of the skull with no screws or adhesives. The titanium implant is 3D-printed and is durable and robust, stabilizing on the skull surface in a wrap-around manner. Titanium can foster new bone development in the gaps between the implant and the skull. Broad neural access allows the installation of intra- and extra-cranial devices for sensing and stimulation. The enhanced stability and bone-integrative properties of this implant may be useful in studying and treating neurological diseases.

This technology has been tested in animal subjects.

Applications:

• Treatment of neurological diseases
• Cranioplasty
• Brain-computer interface
• Bone repair
• Research platform for implant materials, designs, and technologies

Advantages:

• Patient-specific
• Less invasive
• Shortens and simplifies steps for cranioplasty
• Reduces risk of cranial implants by eliminating the need to drill through the skull
• Reduces inflammation and infection risk by eliminating openings in existing bone tissue
• Requires minimal bone remodeling
• Encloses rather than penetrates the cranial bone

Lead Inventor:

Elias Issa, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Pending (WO/2024/026489)

Tech Ventures Reference:

• IR CU22306

• Licensing Contact: Kristin Neuman