Cogan, Stuart F.

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10735.1/6181

Stuart Cogan joined the UT Dallas faculty as a professor of bioengineering in 2014. In 2016 he was inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows for "outstanding contributions to the understanding of the electrochemistry and properties of neural stimulation and recording electrodes.” Dr. Cohen is also the Principal Investigator for the Neural Interfaces Laboratory at UT Dallas. His research interests focus on materials and devices for stimulation and recording of the nervous system with the goal of "the development and characterization of materials and devices that are stable in long-term chronic implants and that safely provide therapeutic levels of stimulation." This includes:

  • the fabrication of thin film multielectrode devices,
  • the development of implantable encapsulation,
  • electrochemical characterization and long-term testing in the laboratory and in vivo, and
  • the study of stimulation-induced electrode and tissue damage mechanisms.

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Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Electrodeposited Iridium Oxide on Carbon Fiber Ultramicroelectrodes for Neural Recording and Stimulation
    (Electrochemical Society Inc.) Deku, Felix; Joshi-Imre, Alexandra; Mertiri, A.; Gardner, T. J.; Cogan, Stuart F.; 0000-0002-4915-1200 (Deku, F); 43420545 (Cogan, SF); Deku, Felix; Joshi-Imre, Alexandra; Cogan, Stuart F.
    Host encapsulation decreases the ability of chronically implanted microelectrodes to record or stimulate neural activity. The degree of foreign body response is thought to depend strongly on the cross-sectional dimensions of the electrode shaft penetrating neural tissue. Microelectrodes with cellular or sub-cellular scale shaft cross-sectional dimensions, such as carbon fiber ultramicroelectrodes have been previously demonstrated to elicit minimal tissue response, but their small geometric surface area results in high electrode impedances for neural recording, and reduced charge injection capacity during current pulsing for neural stimulation. We investigated electrodeposited iridium oxide films (EIROF) on carbon fiber ultramicroelectrodes as a means of enhancing the charge injection capacity and reducing electrode impedance. EIROF coatings reduced the electrode impedance measured at 1 kHz by a factor of 10 and improved charge storage and charge injection capacities. The maximum charge injection capacity was also strongly dependent on the interpulse bias and pulse width, and reflected a potential-dependent EIROF impedance. The charge injection capacity of the EIROF-coated carbon fiber ultramicroelectrodes measured in an inorganic buffered saline model of interstitial fluid exceeded 17 mC/cm2 with appropriate biasing, allowing charge-injection at levels well above reported charge/phase thresholds for intraneural microstimulation.
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    Thinking Small: Progress on Microscale Neurostimulation Technology
    (Wiley, 2018-10-22) Pancrazio, Joseph J.; Deku, Felix; Ghazavi, Atefeh; Stiller, Allison M.; Rihani, Rashed; Frewin, Christopher L.; Varner, Victor D.; Gardner, Timothy J.; Cogan, Stuart F.; 0000 0000 2895 2047‏ (Cogan, SF); 43420545 (Cogan, SF); Pancrazio, Joseph J.; Deku, Felix; Ghazavi, Atefeh; Stiller, Allison M.; Rihani, Rashed; Frewin, Christopher L.; Varner, Victor D.; Gardner, Timothy J.; Cogan, Stuart F.
    Objectives: Neural stimulation is well-accepted as an effective therapy for a wide range of neurological disorders. While the scale of clinical devices is relatively large, translational, and pilot clinical applications are underway for microelectrode-based systems. Microelectrodes have the advantage of stimulating a relatively small tissue volume which may improve selectivity of therapeutic stimuli. Current microelectrode technology is associated with chronic tissue response which limits utility of these devices for neural recording and stimulation. One approach for addressing the tissue response problem may be to reduce physical dimensions of the device. "Thinking small" is a trend for the electronics industry, and for implantable neural interfaces, the result may be a device that can evade the foreign body response. Materials and Methods: This review paper surveys our current understanding pertaining to the relationship between implant size and tissue response and the state-of-the-art in ultrasmall microelectrodes. A comprehensive literature search was performed using PubMed, Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics), and Google Scholar. Results: The literature review shows recent efforts to create microelectrodes that are extremely thin appear to reduce or even eliminate the chronic tissue response. With high charge capacity coatings, ultramicroelectrodes fabricated from emerging polymers, and amorphous silicon carbide appear promising for neurostimulation applications. Conclusion: We envision the emergence of robust and manufacturable ultramicroelectrodes that leverage advanced materials where the small cross-sectional geometry enables compliance within tissue. Nevertheless, future testing under in vivo conditions is particularly important for assessing the stability of thin film devices under chronic stimulation.
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    Amorphous Silicon Carbide Ultramicroelectrode Arrays for Neural Stimulation and Recording
    (2018-10-22) Deku, Felix; Cohen, Yarden; Joshi-Imre, Alexandra; Kanneganti, Aswini; Gardner, Timothy J.; Cogan, Stuart F.; 0000-0002-4915-1200 (Deku, F)); 0000-0002-8149-6954 (Cohen, Y); Deku, Felix; Cohen, Yarden; Joshi-Imre, Alexandra; Kanneganti, Aswini; Cogan, Stuart F.
    OBJECTIVE: Foreign body response to indwelling cortical microelectrodes limits the reliability of neural stimulation and recording, particularly for extended chronic applications in behaving animals. The extent to which this response compromises the chronic stability of neural devices depends on many factors including the materials used in the electrode construction, the size, and geometry of the indwelling structure. Here, we report on the development of microelectrode arrays (MEAs) based on amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC).; APPROACH: This technology utilizes a-SiC for its chronic stability and employs semiconductor manufacturing processes to create MEAs with small shank dimensions. The a-SiC films were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition and patterned by thin-film photolithographic techniques. To improve stimulation and recording capabilities with small contact areas, we investigated low impedance coatings on the electrode sites. The assembled devices were characterized in phosphate buffered saline for their electrochemical properties.; MAIN RESULTS: MEAs utilizing a-SiC as both the primary structural element and encapsulation were fabricated successfully. These a-SiC MEAs had 16 penetrating shanks. Each shank has a cross-sectional area less than 60 m² and electrode sites with a geometric surface area varying from 20 to 200 m². Electrode coatings of TiN and SIROF reduced 1 kHz electrode impedance to less than 100 kΩ from ~2.8 MΩ for 100 m² Au electrode sites and increased the charge injection capacities to values greater than 3 mC cm⁻². Finally, we demonstrated functionality by recording neural activity from basal ganglia nucleus of Zebra Finches and motor cortex of rat.; SIGNIFICANCE: The a-SiC MEAs provide a significant advancement in the development of microelectrodes that over the years has relied on silicon platforms for device manufacture. These flexible a-SiC MEAs have the potential for decreased tissue damage and reduced foreign body response. The technique is promising and has potential for clinical translation and large scale manufacturing.

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