Implant technologyBrain-computer interfaces01 sources

DTU builds a needle-thin implant that records, doses and stimulates

Rendered illustration of the needle-thin microfluidic Axialtrode, a translucent tube with openings and a glowing blue light window, among a network of golden neurons on a dark blue background.

Kunyang Sui / Technical University of DenmarkPress kit

Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark, with the University of Copenhagen and University College London, described a flexible brain implant that combines three functions in a single shank less than half a millimetre across. The work was published in Advanced Science (DOI 10.1002/advs.202519744) and announced on 21 September 2026.

The device, called the microfluidic Axialtrode or mAxialtrode, records neural activity, delivers medication through eight microscopic fluid channels with outlets spaced almost three millimetres apart, and stimulates several brain regions with blue and red light carried by soft optical fibres. Because the outlets are distributed along its length, one insertion can reach different depths of the brain.

The probe was tested in living mice. The team states that the technology is still far from routine clinical use and would need extensive testing, further development and regulatory approval before it could treat patients.

Combining the three functions in one shank means reading, stimulating and dosing can happen at the same site through a single insertion, instead of through separate probes.

Sources

  1. [1]Scientists create a needle-thin brain implant that can do three jobs at onceScienceDaily (Technical University of Denmark)··Article