SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUS STIMULATION AND RECORDING USING SYSTEM-ON-CHIP (SOC) ARCHITECTURE

1 . A neuromodulation system comprising:

a microelectrode array including a stimulation microelectrode to deliver a desired electrical stimulation to a neuronal population and a recording microelectrode to receive neural signals from the neuronal population; and

a frequency-shaping amplifier (FSA) circuit coupled to the microelectrode array to improve a signal-to-noise ratio of the neural signals received from the neuronal population via the recording microelectrode, the FSA circuit comprising:

a first capacitor;

a second capacitor;

an FSA comprising an input terminal and an output terminal; and

a feedback gain boosting path connected between the output terminal and the input terminal, the feedback gain boosting path to transfer charge on the first capacitor to the second capacitor.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the input terminal of the FSA comprises an inverting input terminal of the FSA.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the feedback gain boosting path is to transfer the charge on the first capacitor to the second capacitor during a second time period that occurs after a first time period; and

the feedback gain boosting path is not to transfer the charge on the first capacitor to the second capacitor during the first time period.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the feedback gain boosting path is configured to transfer the charge on the first capacitor to the second capacitor in accordance with a ratio of a first capacitance of the first capacitor to a second capacitance of the second capacitor.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the FSA circuit is configured to electrically record the neural signals received by the recording microelectrode during delivery of the desired electrical stimulation by the stimulation microelectrode.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the stimulation microelectrode and the recording microelectrode are separated by tens to hundreds of micrometers in the microelectrode array.

7 . A system-on-chip comprising:

a recorder circuit block including a frequency-shaping amplifier (FSA) circuit configured to receive neural signals from a neuronal population via a recording microelectrode;

a stimulation circuit block configured to deliver electrical stimulation to the neuronal population via a stimulation microelectrode; and

a digital circuit block configured to generate control signals for the recorder circuit block and the stimulation circuit block;

wherein the FSA circuit comprises:

a first capacitor;

a second capacitor;

an FSA comprising an input terminal and an output terminal; and

a feedback gain boosting path connected between the output terminal and the input terminal, the feedback gain boosting path to transfer charge on the first capacitor to the second capacitor.

8 . The system-on-chip of claim 7 , wherein:

the input terminal of the FSA comprises an inverting input terminal of the FSA;

the feedback gain boosting path is to transfer the charge on the first capacitor to the second capacitor during a second time period that occurs after a first time period; and

the feedback gain boosting path is not to transfer the charge on the first capacitor to the second capacitor during the first time period.

9 . The system-on-chip of claim 8 , wherein the feedback gain boosting path is configured to transfer the charge on the first capacitor to the second capacitor in accordance with a ratio of a first capacitance of the first capacitor to a second capacitance of the second capacitor.

10 . The system-on-chip of claim 7 , wherein the recorder circuit block, the stimulation circuit block, and the digital circuit block are physically isolated from each other on the system-on-chip.

11 . The system-on-chip of claim 10 , wherein the recorder circuit block, the stimulation circuit block, and the digital circuit block operate on separate voltage rails of the system-on-chip.

12 . The system-on-chip of claim 7 , wherein the stimulation circuit block comprises charge-balancing circuitry and a current driver that is configured to generate stimulation pulses to be delivered to the stimulation microelectrode.

13 . The system-on-chip of claim 12 , wherein the digital circuit block comprises a clock generator configured to synchronize data acquisition by the FSA circuit with timing of the stimulation pulses generated by the stimulation circuit block.

14 . The system-on-chip of claim 7 , wherein the recorder circuit block further comprises an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) configured to digitize outputs from the FSA circuit.

15 . A method of neuromodulation comprising:

receiving neural signals from a neuronal population via a recording microelectrode of a microelectrode array;

delivering electrical stimulation to the neuronal population via a stimulation microelectrode of the microelectrode array; and

processing the neural signals received from the neuronal population via the recording microelectrode using a frequency-shaping amplifier (FSA) circuit coupled to the microelectrode array;

wherein the FSA circuit comprises:

a first capacitor;

a second capacitor;

an FSA comprising an input terminal and an output terminal; and

a feedback gain boosting path connected between the output terminal and the input terminal, the feedback gain boosting path to transfer charge on the first capacitor to the second capacitor.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the input terminal of the FSA comprises an inverting input terminal of the FSA.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein:

the feedback gain boosting path is to transfer the charge on the first capacitor to the second capacitor during a second time period that occurs after a first time period;

the feedback gain boosting path is not to transfer the charge on the first capacitor to the second capacitor during the first time period; and

the feedback gain boosting path is configured to transfer the charge on the first capacitor to the second capacitor in accordance with a ratio of a first capacitance of the first capacitor to a second capacitance of the second capacitor.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein receiving the neural signals from the neuronal population and delivering the electrical stimulation to the neuronal population occurs simultaneously.

19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein processing the neural signals occurs while delivering the electrical stimulation to the neuronal population.

20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein processing the neural signals comprises recording neural activity comprising action potentials and local field potentials.