This isn't the first array of this type; it isn't even the tenth. There are two major commercially available systems. Neuronexus is based on printed circuits and is used mostly in rodents. The Utah array is micromachined and more robustly packaged, and is used mostly in monkeys and some humans.<p><a href="http://neuronexus.com/products/neural-probes" rel="nofollow">http://neuronexus.com/products/neural-probes</a>
<a href="http://www.blackrockmicro.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.blackrockmicro.com</a>
I used to work in a lab that did some single-neuron recording and some array-recording. We recorded from monkeys. The monkeys had to have a chamber surgery in order for electrodes to be inserted into the brain.<p>This article mentions that they'll be recording from many areas simultaneously. I would think this would mean multiple chamber surgeries in different areas.<p>I know that these surgeries do damage to the monkeys. Could a monkey sustain so many chamber surgeries? What about other animals?