An ovine model of cerebral catheter venography for implantation of an endovascular neural interface

OBJECTIVENeural interface technology may enable the development of novel therapies to treat neurological conditions, including motor prostheses for spinal cord injury. Intracranial neural interfaces currently require a craniotomy to achieve implantation and may result in chronic tissue inflammation. Novel approaches are required that achieve less invasive implantation methods while maintaining high spatial resolution. An endovascular stent electrode array avoids direct brain trauma and is able to record electrocorticography in local cortical tissue from within the venous vasculature. The motor area in sheep runs in a parasagittal plane immediately adjacent to the superior sagittal sinus (SSS). The authors aimed to develop a sheep model of cerebral venography that would enable validation of an endovascular neural interface.METHODSCerebral catheter venography was performed in 39 consecutive sheep. Contrast-enhanced MRI of the brain was performed on 13 animals. Multiple telescoping coaxial catheter systems w...