Multiplexed Neural Recording Down a Single Optical Fiber via Optical Reflectometry with Capacitive Signal Enhancement

Abstract: We introduce a fiber-optic architecture for neural recording without contrast agents, and study its properties theoretically. Our sensor design is inspired by electrooptic modulators, which modulate the refractive index of a waveguide by applying an electric field across an electrooptic core material, and allows recording of the activities of individual neurons located at points along a 10 cm length of optical fiber with 20 um axial resolution, sensitivity down to 100 uV and a dynamic range of up to 1V using commercially available optical reflectometers as readout devices. A key concept of the design is the ability to create an "intensified" electric field inside an optical waveguide by applying the extracellular voltage from a neural spike over a nanoscopic distance. Implementing this concept requires the use of ultrathin high-dielectric capacitor layers. If suitable materials can be found -- possessing favorable properties with respect to toxicity, ohmic junctions, and surface capacitance -- then such sensing fibers could, in principle, be scaled down to few-micron cross-sections for minimally invasive neural interfacing. Custom-designed multi-material optical fibers, probed using a reflectometric readout, may therefore provide a powerful platform for neural sensing.