Waveguide neural interface device

1. A method of assembling a waveguide neural interface device, comprising the steps of:

a) providing a substrate comprising a first proximal substrate branch and a second proximal substrate branch extending proximally from at least a distal substrate portion;

b) mounting at least one waveguide to the substrate, wherein the waveguide is configured to carry light along a light path from a proximal waveguide portion supported at the first proximal substrate branch to a distal waveguide portion including at least one distal light directing element supported at the distal substrate portion, the light directing element being configured to emit light carried by the waveguide away from a longitudinal axis of a distal portion of the light path;

c) supporting at least one electrode site on the distal substrate portion, wherein the at least one electrode site is electrically connected to an interconnect supported on the second proximal substrate branch;

d) providing a circuit board comprising a first circuit board face delineated from a second circuit board face by a fold line;

e) mounting the first and second proximal substrate branches supporting the respective proximal waveguide portion and the interconnect to the first circuit board face;

f) mounting a light source to the second circuit board face; and

g) folding the circuit board along the fold line to thereby move the respective first and second circuit board faces into close proximity with each other so that the light source is positioned to shine light into the proximal waveguide portion at the first proximal substrate branch so that the shone light travels along the light path to then be emitted from the waveguide adjacent to the at least one electrode site by the light directing element at the distal substrate portion.

2. The method of claim 1 , including orienting the light directing element by rotating the waveguide to a predetermined angular orientation with respect to the longitudinal axis of the distal portion of the light path.

3. The method of claim 1 , including providing the circuit board comprising an electrical face as the first circuit board face and an optical face as the second circuit board face, wherein the optical face of the circuit board comprises optical components and the electrical face of the circuit board comprises at least one electrical component configured to interface with the at least one electrode site.

4. The method of claim 1 , including fabricating the waveguide using a process selected from the group consisting of a micro-opto-electro-mechanical system (MOEMS), photolithography, microembossing, thermal nanoimprint lithography (NIL), and combined nanoimprinting and photolithography (CNP).

5. The method of claim 1 , including fabricating the waveguide from a material selected from the group consisting of SU-8, poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), perfluoropolymers, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), parylene, silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and silica.

6. The method of claim 1 , including layering the waveguide over the substrate.

7. The method of claim 6 , including wrapping the substrate around the waveguide.

8. A waveguide neural interface device, comprising;

a) a substrate comprising a first proximal substrate branch and a second proximal substrate branch extending proximally from at least a distal substrate portion;

b) at least one waveguide mounted to the substrate, wherein the waveguide is configured to carry light along a light path from a proximal waveguide portion supported at the first proximal substrate branch to a distal waveguide portion including at least one distal light directing element supported at the distal substrate portion, the light directing element being configured to emit light carried by the waveguide away from a longitudinal axis of a distal portion of the light path;

c) at least one electrode site supported by the distal substrate portion, wherein the at least one electrode site is electrically connected to an interconnect supported on the second proximal substrate branch;

d) a circuit board comprising a first circuit board face delineated from a second circuit board face by a fold line, wherein the first and second proximal substrate branches supporting the respective proximal waveguide portion and the interconnect are mounted to the first circuit board face; and

e) a light source mounted to the second circuit board face, and

f) wherein the circuit board is characterized as having been folded along the fold line so that the respective first and second circuit board faces are in close proximity with each other and with the light source positioned to shine light into the proximal waveguide portion at the first proximal substrate branch so that the shone light travels along the light path to then be emitted from the waveguide adjacent to the at least one electrode site by the light directing element at the distal substrate portion.

9. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein there are at least two electrode sites, a first one being a recording electrode site that is configured to sample illuminated light and the other one being a stimulation electrode site that is configured to provide electrical stimulation to tissue.

10. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 9 , wherein the light directing element is positioned to avoid direct illumination of the recording electrode site.

11. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the substrate has a shape selected from the group consisting of flat, concave, convex, and wavy.

12. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the light directing element is supported by the waveguide.

13. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the at least one waveguide has more than one light directing element.

14. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the substrate has either a cylindrical or an elliptical cross-section perpendicular to a length and wherein there are a plurality of electrode sites arranged axially along and circumferentially around the cylindrical- or elliptical-shaped substrate.

15. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the substrate is relatively flexible and the waveguide is relatively rigid.

16. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the waveguide has a tapered distal end configured for insertion into tissue.

17. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the waveguide comprises a cladding layer over an inner core, and wherein the cladding layer is configured to facilitate internal reflection of light along the inner core serving as the light path.

18. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 17 , wherein the cladding layer is patterned to expose a portion of the inner core and wherein the light directing element comprises an exposed portion of the inner core.

19. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the light directing element comprises at least one light refractor.

20. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the light directing element comprises a reflector that is configured to reflect light in a proximal direction along the longitudinal axis of the distal portion of the light path.

21. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the light directing element comprises a lens configured to focus the emitted light to a variable focal point outside the waveguide.

22. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 21 , wherein the lens is either a light crystal lens or a ferroelectric lens.

23. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the light directing element is a light scattering element selected from the group consisting of a Bragg reflector, surface corrugations, an optically dissipating coating, and optically dissipating molecules embedded in the waveguide.

24. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the light directing element comprises a filter that is configured to allow only a certain bandwidth of light to emit from the waveguide.

25. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the substrate comprises an aperture through which light emitting from the light directing element shines.

26. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 25 , wherein the substrate comprises spaced apart front and back substrate faces and wherein the at least one electrode site is supported on one of the front and back substrate faces and the waveguide is supported on the other of the front and back substrate faces with the light emitting element configured to shine light through the aperture to illuminate tissue adjacent to the at least one electrode site.

27. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein each of the first and second proximal substrate branches supports a respective waveguide.

28. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 27 , wherein the distal substrate portion comprises first and second distal substrate branches, each distal substrate branch supporting at least one electrode site and a distal waveguide portion connected to at least one distal light directing element configured to emit light adjacent to the at least one electrode site.

29. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein at least one of the first and second circuit board faces further support at least one electrical component and at least one optical component, and wherein:

a) the at least one electrical component is selected from the group consisting of a passive electrical component, an active electrical component, a bond pad for the at least one electrode site, a connector for interfacing to an external component, a current driver for a diode or LED, control electronics for providing a control signal, and a battery power source; and

b) the at least one optical component is selected from the group consisting of a light collecting element, a light focusing element, and an optical filter.

30. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 29 , wherein the distal substrate portion comprises first and second distal substrate branches, each distal substrate branch supporting at least one electrode site and a distal waveguide portion connected to at least one distal light directing element configured to emit light adjacent to the at least one electrode site.

31. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the light source is selected from the group consisting of a circuit board-mounted light-emitting diode (LED), a laser diode, a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), an external laser, an external laser diode, and an external LED.

32. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the substrate is rotatable about an axis of the waveguide.

33. The waveguide neural interface device of claim 8 , wherein the substrate is translatable along an axis of the waveguide.

34. A waveguide neural interface device, comprising:

a) a substrate comprising a first proximal substrate branch and a second proximal substrate branch extending proximally from at least a distal substrate portion;

b) at least one waveguide mounted to the substrate, wherein the waveguide comprises a cladding layer over an inner core with the cladding layer being configured to facilitate internal reflection of light along the inner core serving as a light path from a proximal waveguide portion supported at the first proximal substrate branch to a distal waveguide portion including at least one distal light directing element supported at the distal substrate portion, and wherein the cladding layer is patterned to expose a portion of the inner core with the exposed portion of the inner core serving as a light directing element configured to emit light shone along the inner core away from a longitudinal axis of a distal portion of the light path;

c) at least one electrode site supported by the distal substrate portion, wherein the at least one electrode site is electrically connected to an interconnect supported on the second proximal substrate branch;

d) a circuit board comprising a first circuit board face delineated from a second circuit board face by a fold line, wherein the first and second proximal substrate branches supporting the respective proximal waveguide portion and the interconnect are mounted to the first circuit board face; and

e) a light source mounted to the second circuit board face, and

f) wherein the circuit board is characterized as having been folded along the fold line so that the respective first and second circuit board faces are in close proximity with each other and with the light source positioned to shine light into the proximal waveguide portion at the first proximal substrate branch so that the shone light travels along the light path to then be emitted from the waveguide adjacent to the at least one electrode site by the light directing element at the distal substrate portion, and

g) wherein the substrate is at least one of rotatable about an axis of the waveguide and translatable along the waveguide axis to thereby provide for selective adjustment of the emitted light with respect to the at least one electrode site.