Catalog specification sheet - Intracortical
CIBR kirigami microelectrode array (ki-MEA) for primate brain
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CIBR kirigami microelectrode array (ki-MEA)
A penetrating electrode array for non-human primate brain whose wires and interconnects are cut in a kirigami pattern and stretch into helical springs during implantation, so they can follow the large pulsation and displacement of a primate brain. It comes from Fang Ying’s laboratory at the Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing (CIBR), with the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), Hunan University and the Institute of Psychology, CAS. Published 5 February 2026 in Nature Electronics, DOI 10.1038/s41928-025-01560-6. The source here is CIBR’s Chinese release of 5 February 2026; the paper text was not read, so wafer process, materials and site dimensions are blank.
Identity
| Field | Value and source scope |
|---|
| Device | Flexible kirigami microelectrode arrays, ki-MEAs [1] |
| Origin | CIBR Beijing (Fang Ying lab) with NCNST; co-first authors Fang Runjiu, Tian Huihui, Du Yan [1] |
| Interface class | Intracortical, stretchable multi-wire array [1] |
| Species studied | Rodents (120-channel version) and macaque (256-channel arrays) [1] |
| Regulatory status | Research device; no human use reported in the release [1] |
Geometry and architecture
| Field | Value and source scope |
|---|
| Channel counts | 120-channel rodent array; 256-channel macaque array; multi-array implants reaching about 1000 channels [1] |
| Wire form | Kirigami-patterned electrode wires and interconnects that become helical springs in tissue [1] |
| Mechanics | Finite element result: stretching 3 mm gives a maximum principal strain of 0.64% along the helix, below fracture strain of the metal and insulation; force needed for a given stretch is under 1% of a linear wire [1] |
| Coverage | Total electrode coverage over 1 cm2 across arrays in the macaque [1] |
| Site size, pitch, thickness | |
Materials and fabrication
| Field | Value and source scope |
|---|
| Transfer | Water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film carries the spiral wires from the production chip to above the target; it dissolves on contact with tissue fluid [1] |
| Implantation | A rigid needle pulls the planar wires deeper, stretching them into the final 3D helix; the needle is withdrawn and the wires stay; a calcium-alginate hydrogel layer on the brain surface protects tissue and carries the lateral cutting force of the wires [1] |
| Metal and insulation stack | |
| Field | Value and source scope |
|---|
| Chronic recording | 250 days in macaque; at day 250 a 256-channel array still recorded more than 240 neurons per session [1] |
| Large-scale recording | Multi-array implant across motor and sensory cortex: about 1000 channels, more than 700 neurons per session [1] |
| Decoding | Center-out reaching task in M1; LFADS latent dynamics with an optimal linear estimator decoded arm trajectory at R2 = 0.79 [1] |
Limits
Primate results are offline decoding from a research preparation. The release gives no impedance, yield per channel or animal count. Press reports that compare the pull force with another company’s threads are not used here. The same release does not link this array to a clinical product, and this sheet does not either; Fang Ying is separately named as the founder of Zhiran Medical in press coverage (see the Zhiran brief).
References
- CIBR Beijing (Chinese), Nature Electronics | 方英团队报道”ki-MEAs”剪纸电极技术, 5 February 2026.
- Fang R, Tian H, Du Y et al., Flexible kirigami microelectrode arrays for neuronal activity recordings in nonhuman primate brains, Nature Electronics (2026), DOI 10.1038/s41928-025-01560-6.