Abstract
Long-term implantable bioelectronics offer a powerful means to evaluate the function of the nervous system and serve as effective human–machine interfaces1,2,3. Here, inspired by earthworms, we introduce NeuroWorm—a soft, stretchable and movable fibre sensor designed for bioelectronic interface. Our approach involves rolling to transform 2D bioelectronic devices into 1D NeuroWorm, creating a multifunctional microfibre that houses longitudinally distributed electrode arrays for both bioelectrical and biomechanical monitoring. NeuroWorm effectively records high-quality spatio-temporal signals in situ while steerably advancing within the brain or on the muscle as needed. This allows for the dynamic targeting and shifting of desired monitoring sites. Implanted in muscle through a tiny incision, NeuroWorm provides stable bioelectrical monitoring in rats for more than 43 weeks. Even after 54 weeks of implantation in muscle, fibroblast encapsulation around the fibre remains negligible. Our NeuroWorm represents a platform that promotes a substantial advance in bioelectronics—from an immobile probe fixed in place to active, intelligent and living devices for long-term, minimally invasive and mobile evaluation of the nervous system.
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Raw data and scripts for plotting some of the Extended Data Figures are available in a figshare public repository (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.29389763). Source data are provided with this paper.
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The scripts for plotting some of the Extended Data Figures are publicly available in the figshare public repository and the Supplementary Information. Also, this study does not involve genomic or protein structure data.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2021YFF0501600, 2021YFF0501601, 2021YFF0501602), National Natural Science Foundation of China (62101545, 62201558, 52473269, 62201559, 62471462, 52450017, 52202167, U22A2064), Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (KQTD20210811090217009, RCJC20231211085926038, KJZD20230923114108015), Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB0930000), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (20720230041), the International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (321GJHZ2024176MI), CAS Project for Young Scientists in Basic Research (YSBR-114), GuangDong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2023A1515011160) and Laboratory of Aerospace Entry, Descent and Landing Technology Fund (EDL19092301). Partially supported by Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science (NSY889021054), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Multimodality Non-Invasive Brain-Computer Interfaces (grant no. 2024B1212010010), the National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFB4705300) and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS.
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Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Z.L. conceived the project. W.Y. designed the concept. R.X., F.H., Q.Y., D.L., W.Y., T.X. and Z.L. designed the experiments. The device design, fabrication, as well as its mechanical, electrical and electrochemical measurements were carried out by R.X. R.X., Q.Y. and F.H. performed the animal experiments, including in vitro and in vivo EMG and strain measurements, with assistance from H.Y. and J.H. R.X. and J.H. further demonstrated the application of NeuroWorm for nerve damage assessment. Q.Y. conducted gait analysis. F.H., R.X. and D.L. conducted NeuroWorm locomotion studies in agar. F.H., Q.Y. and D.L. performed magnetic-guided implantation of NeuroWorm through brain and muscle tissue, along with ECoG measurements. Q.Y., R.X. and F.H. recorded intraluminal intestinal electrical signals in rabbit colon. D.L. and G.M. performed finite element analysis and experimental validation of brain needle penetration mechanics. Q.Y., J.H. and R.X. conducted immunohistological analysis of tissue responses. X.H. and X.X. assisted with device fabrication and illustration preparation. X.Z. and X.D. provided test equipment. Q.Y., H.Z., Q.T., Q.L. and H.L. contributed to NeuroWorm extraction after long-term implantation and Y.Z. performed scanning electron microscopy imaging and photography. R.X., F.H., Q.Y. and D.L. analysed the data, with help from H.Z., G.L. and M.Z. The manuscript was written by R.X., F.H., D.L., W.Y., T.X. and Z.L., with all authors participating in discussions and approving the final version. Project supervision was provided by Z.L., T.X., W.Y. and F.H.
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R.X. and Z.L. are inventors on a Chinese patent application (no. CN202310429321.2).
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Extended data figures and tables
Extended Data Fig. 1 Preparation and mechanical properties of NeuroWorm.
a, Schematic illustration of the composite film being rolled up from the substrate. b, Scanning electron microscopy image of the film electrode after being rolled up (30-nm-thick Au layer deposited at a rate of 0.5 Å s−1). The experiment was repeated independently ten times with similar results. c, Stretchability of NeuroWorm with different thicknesses of Au at a fixed conductive path width (n = 3 independent samples and presented as mean ± s.d.). Au layer deposited at a rate of 0.5 Å s−1. d, Stretchability of film electrodes with different conductive path widths at a fixed Au thickness of 30 nm and deposition rate of 0.5 Å s−1 (n = 3 independent samples and presented as mean ± s.d.). e, Effect of SEBS concentration on stretchability of fibre sensors at 0.3 Å s−1 deposition rate. f, Stretchability of the 60-channel NeuroWorm (Au layer of 30 nm thickness and 200 μm width, deposited at a rate of 0.5 Å s−1). g, Electrode patterns design of NeuroWorm. h, Diameter of NeuroWorm fabricated from thin-film electrodes with different widths (Au layer of 30 nm thickness and deposited at a rate of 0.5 Å s−1).
Extended Data Fig. 2 Physical and electrical characterization of NeuroWorm and material variants.
a, Statistical data of diameter (D), Young’s modulus (E) and stretchability (S) of NeuroWorm used for implantation. Data were collected from n = 10 samples and presented as mean ± s.d. b, Stress–strain curve of NeuroWorm. c, Interface design between NeuroWorm and signal acquisition devices. d, Resistance of the 400-nm-thick SEBS film. e, Crosstalk test across different channels. f, Resistance change of NeuroWorm during the 1st and 1,000th stretching–releasing cycles at 30% strain. g, Image of NeuroWorm rolled with liquid metal. h, Stretchability of NeuroWorm with liquid metal as electrodes. i, Changes of the impedance of NeuroWorm when stretched to 30%. Data were collected from n = 3 samples and presented as mean ± s.d. j, Performance of the fibre capacitive strain sensor after being stretched to 20% for 1,000 cycles. k, Impedance of NeuroWorm before and after ultraviolet disinfection. Data were collected from n = 3 samples. m,n, Image of the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA)-based and the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based fibre sensor. o, Stretchability of EVA-based and PDMS-based NeuroWorms.
Extended Data Fig. 3 Performance comparison in ECoG recording using NeuroWorm and cranially fixed electrodes.
a, Image of the NeuroWorm beneath the dura mater. Scale bar, 2 mm. b, Schematic showing the channel distribution of NeuroWorm (channels 1–10) and cranially fixed electrodes (channels 11–20). c,d, Time-domain signals (c) and corresponding frequency spectra (d) of ECoG signals recorded by NeuroWorm (see b). e,f, Time-domain signals (e) and frequency spectra (f) of ECoG signals recorded from cranially fixed electrodes. g, Comparison of the signal-to-noise ratio of ECoG signals recorded by NeuroWorm and cranially fixed electrodes. The mean signal-to-noise ratio of NeuroWorm is higher than that of cranially fixed electrodes; n = 10 channels signal examined over an independent experiment and presented as mean ± s.d. A two-tailed paired t-test was used for statistical analysis, P = 0.003 < 0.05).
Extended Data Fig. 4 LFP time–frequency analysis & NeuroWorm steering in a magnetically controlled obstacle-avoidance scenario.
a, LFP time–frequency diagram corresponding to Fig. 3e. b, Schematic illustration of NeuroWorm steering within a 3D-printed cerebral vascular model guided by rotating magnetic head. c, Sequential flow diagram (I–IV) showing the set-up of a printed cerebral vascular model filled with 0.5 wt% agar. d, Images and corresponding schematic diagrams of NeuroWorm exhibiting controllable wandering ability within the agar-infused cerebral vascular model over a 43-s period. Scale bars, 1.5 mm.
Extended Data Fig. 5 Six orthogonal views obtained from DSA, illustrating the NeuroWorm at distinct positions within brain tissue.
a, Front view of the steering process. b, Top view of the steering process. P1–P6, positions 1–6. Scale bars, 4 mm.
Extended Data Fig. 6 3D reconstruction of the NeuroWorm’s trajectory as it steers through brain tissue (corresponding to Extended Data Fig. 5).
a, Isometric projection. b–d, Orthographic projections.
Extended Data Fig. 7 Intraluminal intestinal electrical signal recording in the rabbit colon.
a, Image of NeuroWorm implanted in rabbit colon. Scale bar, 3 cm. b, Insertion pathway and final position of NeuroWorm within the rabbit colon. Scale bars, 2 cm. c, Time-domain representation of colon electrical signals from seven channels. d, Time–frequency analysis of the corresponding signals obtained by means of wavelet transform.
Extended Data Fig. 8 Muscle flexion angle sensing and CMAP potential recording.
a, Measurement of the femoral and tibial joints angles. b, Capacitance values corresponding to different joint angles. c, Set-up of NeuroWorm for monitoring CMAP signals evoked by sciatic nerve stimulation. d, CMAP signals evoked by varying stimulation currents detected by channel 1. e, CMAP signals evoked by varying stimulation currents detected by channel 2. f, Assessing the extent of nerve damage by NeuroWorm.
Extended Data Fig. 9 Implantation strategy and long-term electrophysiological performance of the NeuroWorm system.
a, Photograph of the NeuroWorm system, encompassing the fibre sensor, the soft–hard interface and connection to the skull by means of SSW. b, Photograph showing the implantation incision for the thin-film electrode. c, Recorded EMG signals during gait testing. d, Impedance changes of NeuroWorm (n = 4 samples) and SSW (n = 2 samples) over 43 weeks of implantation.
Supplementary information
Supplementary Information (download PDF )
This file contains Supplementary Figs. 1–12, Supplementary Table 1 and scripts for plotting Extended Data Figs. 3d, 3f, 4a and 7d.
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Source data Supplementary Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 12.
Supplementary Video 1 (download MP4 )
Fabrication process of NeuroWorm.
Supplementary Video 2 (download MP4 )
Controllable movement of NeuroWorm on cortical and subcortical regions using an external magnetic field for ECoG and LFP signal monitoring.
Supplementary Video 3 (download MP4 )
Controllable movement of NeuroWorm on muscles using an external magnetic field for continuous 7-day electromyography monitoring.
Supplementary Video 4 (download MP4 )
Implantation of NeuroWorm in an artificial brain under magnetic field.
Supplementary Video 5 (download MP4 )
Demonstration of the safe in vivo and ex vivo extraction of NeuroWorm.
Supplementary Video 6 (download MP4 )
Minimally invasive implantation process of NeuroWorm.
Supplementary Video 7 (download MP4 )
Long-term implantable monitoring of intramuscular EMG during movement.
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Xie, R., Han, F., Yu, Q. et al. A movable long-term implantable soft microfibre for dynamic bioelectronics. Nature 645, 648–655 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09344-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09344-w
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