On Friday, October 3, 2025, a press release was published from Osaka University regarding the research achievements of an international joint research group, led by the IoB Core Technology Team (Sub-project Manager: Dr. Takufumi Yanagisawa) and the IoB Minimally Invasive Technology Team (Sub-project Manager: Dr. Tsuyoshi Sekitani).

Intravascular electroencephalography (ivEEG) is highly anticipated as a foundational technology for minimally invasive Brain-Machine Interfaces (BMI). However, existing stent-based ivEEG methods have been limited to placement in large vessels such as the superior sagittal sinus (SSS). This limitation made it difficult to clearly capture the activity of specific cortical areas essential for high-precision BMI control, such as those related to hand and mouth movements, posing a significant technical challenge.

In this study, the research team used a clinical microguidewire as an electrode, guiding it via a catheter into the fine vessels of the brain (cortical veins and deep veins) to record EEG signals in pigs. As a result, the ivEEG recorded from the cortical veins (CV-ivEEG) demonstrated a higher signal intensity than conventional SSS-based EEG and was shown to have an accuracy comparable to electrocorticography (ECoG), which requires open-skull surgery for placement on the brain surface. Furthermore, they demonstrated that high-precision EEG can be obtained by placing electrodes minimally invasively even in deep brain regions, where electrode placement is typically difficult through open-skull surgery.

This achievement is expected to significantly contribute to the precision improvement of epilepsy treatment and the practical realization of next-generation BMI that enables communication and movement assistance for severely paralyzed patients.

Please check the details below:
“Less invasive brainwave recording breakthrough: New technique uses blood vessels to access brain activity with unprecedented precision“

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Participating Members of the International Joint Research Group</span>

IoB Core Technology Team

• Sub-project Manager: Dr. Takufumi Yanagisawa (Professor, Department of Neuroinformatics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine)

IoB Minimally Invasive Technology Team

• Sub-project Manager: Dr. Tsuyoshi Sekitani (Professor, Sanken, Osaka University)
• Principal Investigator: Dr. Hajime Nakamura (Lecturer, Department of Neurosurgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine)
• Principal Investigator: Dr. Takafumi Uemura (Associate Professor, Sanken, Osaka University)
• Principal Investigator: Dr. David Grayden (Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Melbourne)