Injectable ultrasonic sensor for wireless monitoring of intracranial signals

Direct and precise monitoring of intracranial physiology holds immense importance in delineating injuries, prognostication and averting disease¹. Wired clinical instruments that use percutaneous leads are accurate but are susceptible to infection, patient mobility constraints and potential surgical complications during removal². Wireless implantable devices provide greater operational freedom but include issues such as limited detection range, poor degradation and difficulty in size reduction in the human body³. Here we present an injectable, bioresorbable and wireless metastructured hydrogel (metagel) sensor for ultrasonic monitoring of intracranial signals. The metagel sensors are cubes 2 × 2 × 2 mm³ in size that encompass both biodegradable and stimulus-responsive hydrogels and periodically aligned air columns with a specific acoustic reflection spectrum. Implanted into intracranial space with a puncture needle, the metagel deforms in response to physiological environmental changes, causing peak frequency shifts of reflected ultrasound waves that can be wirelessly measured by an external ultrasound probe. The metagel sensor can independently detect intracranial pressure, temperature, pH and flow rate, realize a detection depth of 10 cm and almost fully degrade within 18 weeks. Animal experiments on rats and pigs indicate promising multiparametric sensing performances on a par with conventional non-resorbable wired clinical benchmarks.