Endovascular approaches to neural interfacing: lessons from cardiovascular technologies
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Endovascular neural interfaces (ENIs) have emerged as a minimally invasive alternative to traditional neural interfaces. These devices are implanted within blood vessels adjacent to neural tissue to record or stimulate neural activity across the vessel wall. This enables minimally invasive implantation through angiographic procedures and reduces the risk of neural tissue damage. As they are deployed in the intravascular space, ENIs have a similar technological evolution to cardiovascular devices and share many features and constraints. First-generation ENIs borrowed guide wires and catheters employed in cardiovascular procedures for endovascular neural recording but were limited to acute settings. Concurrently, the cardiovascular field explored the possibility of integrating electronics onto endovascular devices. Catheters have been used for endovascular stimulation as a treatment for cardiovascular conditions. Cardiovascular stents have been integrated with wireless sensors, enabling self-reporting stents to monitor implant health. In 2016, a breakthrough in the field of ENIs was achieved by leveraging the chronic stability of stents to support an electrode array. Exemplified by Synchron's StentrodeTM, stent electrode arrays have been successfully employed as a brain-computer interface for chronic motor cortex recording. Subsequent research in the field has focused on expanding applications and improving spatial resolution. Incorporating valuable lessons from the field of interventional cardiology will be key to accelerate ENI development, especially in the areas of device miniaturisation, enhancement of stimulation capabilities, wireless communication and long-term device safety. Addressing these limitations could revolutionise the treatment of neurological disorders, enabling high spatial resolution recording and stimulation possible through minimally invasive, accessible procedures.
Date Issued
2026-09-23
Date Acceptance
2026-09-03
Citation
Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2026, 20
ISSN
1662-4548
Publisher
Frontiers Media S.A.
Journal / Book Title
Frontiers in Neuroscience
Volume
20
Copyright Statement
© 2026 Landeira-Suquia, Lee, Cuttaz, Goding, John and Green. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
License URL
Identifier
10.3389/fnins.2026.1933040
Publication Status
Published