00:00Brain surgery is notoriously dangerous.
00:05After all, your brain is responsible for managing the functions of every other part of your
00:09body.
00:10But now neuroscientists in Switzerland say extremely invasive brain surgery may not be
00:14needed in many cases moving forward, as they've developed a new way to monitor brain function
00:19by inserting a newly developed device through a tiny hole in the skull.
00:22Here's Professor Stephanie Lacour, one of the device's developers, to explain.
00:26So we have developed soft electrode array designed to record information from the surface
00:32of the brain, and these electrodes are so soft that they can be inserted just between
00:37the surface of the brain and the skull, and this could find application for recording
00:42of epilepsy seizures.
00:44So how big is the hole?
00:45Only around one centimeter.
00:46They say one of the biggest challenges was finding the right material, explaining that
00:50they were initially approached by a neurosurgeon asking for a less invasive option, as current
00:54methods involve cutting a large portion of the skull and removing it, then placing electrodes
00:58individually.
00:59Now they simply drill a hole and insert the soft-bodied flower-like device, which is then
01:03articulated via a liquid pressure system, allowing them to fan out the petals, positioning
01:08each in the exact right position on the surface of the brain.
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