Transparent Polycrystalline Ceramic Cranial Implant with Photonic Functionality in the SWIR

Camacho-López, Santiago, CICESE; Davoodzadeh, Nami, Univ. of California, Riverside; Halaney, David L., Univ. of California, Riverside; Hernández-Cordero, Juan, Univ. Nacional Autónoma de México; Aguilar, Guillermo, Univ. of California, Riverside; Castillo, Gabriel R., Univ. Nacional Autónoma de México; Cisneros-Martínez, Antonio, Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica Chapter; Coyotl-Ocelotl, Beatriz, Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica; Chiu, Roger, Univ. de Guadalajara; Ramírez-San-Juan, Julio Cesar, Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica; Ramos-García, Rubén, Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica

doi:10.1117/3.2604326.ch12

Book: Short-Wavelength Infrared Windows for Biomedical Applications

Editor(s): Laura A. Sordillo; Peter P. Sordillo

Chapter Author(s): Santiago Camacho-López, Nami Davoodzadeh, David Halaney, Juan Hernández-Cordero, Guillermo Aguilar, Gabriel Castillo, Antonio Cisneros-Martínez, Beatriz Coyotl-Ocelotl, Roger Chiu, Julio Cesar Ramírez-San-Juan, Rubén Ramos-García

Published: 2021

https://doi.org/10.1117/3.2604326.ch12

Author Affiliations +

Abstract

Short-wavelength infrared (SWIR)-based techniques for imaging, diagnosing, and treating the brain have become widespread clinical tools, but application of these techniques is limited by optical attenuation in the scalp and skull. In this chapter, we examine a strategy to provide optical access to the brain for SWIR delivery and collection. This strategy utilizes a transparent cranial implant termed the “window to the brain” (WttB); this implant is made from a tough, biocompatible, and transparent ceramic called nanocrystalline yttriastabilized zirconia (nc-YSZ). By pairing this cranial window with scalp optical clearing, light scattering by the skull and scalp can be mitigated, allowing for SWIR light delivery to and from the underlying brain tissue.