ScienceSemiconductors

Imec ITF World 2026: Barun Dutta on Convergence of Neuroscience and Semiconductors

EE Times
EE Times•May 20, 2026

Why It Matters

These ultra‑high‑density probes turn the brain into a data source capable of training AI models, paving the way for personalized diagnostics and therapies that were previously impossible.

Key Takeaways

  • •Semiconductor nanotech enables high‑density, minimally invasive neural probes.
  • •Neuropixels 1.0 recorded up to 5,000 neurons simultaneously.
  • •International Brain Lab mapped full‑brain activity across 139 mice.
  • •Next‑gen probes aim for 100,000 neurons per session.
  • •Data may power AI models for personalized brain‑disease therapies.

Summary

Baron Dutta explained how IMEC’s semiconductor expertise is reshaping neuroscience by creating ultra‑dense, minimally invasive neural probes. The effort began around 2013‑14 when neuroscientists needed system‑level recordings beyond the reach of two‑photon microscopes, prompting a partnership that leveraged sub‑nanometer CMOS fabrication to build the first Neuropixels probes.

The Neuropixels 1.0 platform, released in 2019 after a five‑year development cycle, expanded channel counts from 16‑32 to thousands, enabling simultaneous recording of 3,000‑5,000 neurons over a 10 mm span. Collaborative work with Nobel laureate John O’Keefe, Edward Moser, and the Allen Institute produced the International Brain Lab dataset—139 mice, 459 sessions, and over 600,000 neurons—demonstrating full‑brain functional maps for a single task.

Dutta highlighted that the probes integrate MEMS structures with 10 µm × 10 µm electrodes and on‑chip amplifiers operating at 30 kHz, delivering an order‑of‑magnitude noise reduction while staying under 100 µm in size to avoid heating brain tissue. Early applications include reconstructing spoken words from patients with aphasia, achieving sub‑1 % error rates, and generating rich behavioral datasets that can train transformer‑style AI models for disease‑specific simulations.

Looking ahead, IMEC aims to push density to 100,000 neurons per animal, opening pathways for real‑time brain‑computer interfaces, personalized neuro‑therapies, and new AI‑driven models of brain function that could accelerate drug discovery and clinical interventions.

Original Description

At the imec ITF World 2026, the research organization's CEO Patrick Vandenameele referred to Neuropixels 3.0, the latest evolution of its project that is developing neuroprobes to record neuron conversations to get insights into how the brain works.
EE Times' Nitin Dahad was able to have a conversation on the show floor with Barun Dutta, chief scientist at imec workiing on the neuroprobes project, to explain the background to the project and how far it has got in its ability to understand brain signals and act on them.
He talks about the convergence of neuroscience with MEMS sensors and CMOS technology, and how successive versions have been able to integrate more sensors and enable more detailed studies of brain activity.
Watch the full interview at the link.
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