The MINIGRAPH project (Minimally Invasive Neuromodulation Implant and implantation procedure based on ground-breaking GRAPHene technology for treating brain disorders) aims to pave the way for a new generation of adaptive neuroelectronic therapies, resolving the most important limitations of current technology. The project revolves around the development of a new generation of graphene-based brain implants.
The project started in October 2022 and will go on for 36 months. It is a HORIZON-EIC project, with an estimated cost of €3,928,402.50. Among its members are ICN2, IMEC, Fraunhofer, INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, MSRL and more. Recently, Scientists from the Czech Advanced Technologies and Research Institute – CATRIN at Palacký University also announced that they will participate in the project.
Since July, a project with the acronym MINIGRAPH2 has been incorporated as a separate work package of the MINIGRAPH project, coordinated by the Catalan Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) in Barcelona. The aim of the project is to develop and validate a new generation of brain implants very precisely and gently placed in the skull using electronics, which can stimulate the brain’s neural activity to treat or improve certain neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease. The miniature electrodes with graphene play an important role in the system.
The project's website stats that members of the consortium have developed and patented the first graphene-based thin-film electrode material that is designed to overcome the limitations of existing electrode materials used for neural interfacing. Their neural leads, already demonstrated in small animal (rodent) and large animal (sheep) studies, reportedly offer the highest resolution brain recording and stimulation, enabled by the exceptional properties of graphene material that result in unique advances for brain interfaces development.