DustNet: A Wireless Network of Ultrasonic Neural Implants

TL;DR

DustNet introduces a wireless ultrasonic neural implant network supporting multiple nodes with high data rates, aiming to replace percutaneous wires for chronic peripheral nerve recordings.

Contribution

This work presents a fully wireless ultrasonic neural implant system with a novel TDMA protocol and high data throughput, fabricated in 28nm CMOS.

Findings

Supports up to 8 recording nodes over a single ultrasound link.

Achieves a maximum data rate of 200 kb/s per implant at 90mm depth.

Dissipates only 7 μW per implant, enabling low-power operation.

Abstract

Spatially distributed peripheral nerve recordings can be used to reconstruct motor intention and improve natural control of prosthetics However, many existing clinical solutions rely on percutaneous wires to access peripheral nerves; these sites are prone to infection and motion-induced electrode degradation, preventing chronic use. To address the need for fully wireless neural recording systems, this paper presents DustNet: a spatially-distributed network of ultrasonically-powered neural recording implants capable of supporting up to 8 simultaneously recording nodes over a single ultrasound link. To enable high throughput multi-implant communication, DustNet implements a time-division multiple-access (TDMA) protocol with up to 16-level amplitude modulation of the ultrasound backscatter that achieves up to 4x higher data rates than traditional on-off keying methods. Each neural implant consists of a 0.7x0.7x0.7 mm$^3$ piezoceramic transducer, a 100 nF off-chip capacitor, and an IC mounted on a flexible PCB. The implant IC was fabricated in a 28nm CMOS process and occupies an area of 0.43 mm$^2$. System functionality was verified at 90mm depth in oil, achieving a maximum measured data rate of 200 kb/s at 2 MHz ultrasound carrier frequency, with each implant transmitting uplink data at 50 kb/s and dissipating just 7 $\mu$W; the system is demonstrated to support up to 400 kb/s total data rate over the same link.