As one of the EU-funded Future & Emerging Technologies (FET) Flagships, the Graphene Flagship is one of the Commission’s largest research initiatives.
After decades spent by researchers using electrode arrays to map brain activity, the Graphene Flagship and its partners have recently developed a prototype graphene-based implant capable of recording electrical brain activity over large areas and at very low frequencies.
These arrays have always been able to detect activity of only a certain frequency, but the Flagship has overcome this limitation with brand new technology, unlocking information found below 0.1 Hz. It uses a transistor-based architecture, which amplifies the brain’s signals before transmitting them to a receiver, moving away from the electrodes used until now.
Since graphene is slim and flexible enough to be used over large areas of the brain without facing rejection or interfering with brain functionalities, it will give us insights on low-frequency brain activity capable of carrying crucial information about certain events such as epileptic seizures and strokes, enabling us to better diagnose and treat cases of epilepsy.
This new technology will be showcased in the Graphene Pavilion at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain between 25-28 February 2019.
More information
Press release: Graphene can hear your brain whisper
The Graphene Flagship's official website
The Graphene Flagship on Twitter