From Transparent Cranial Windows to Multifunctional Smart Cranial Platforms

In this paper, we briefly reviewed the development of cranial windows and their functions in brain sciences. We demonstrated that a 3D-printed titanium frame coated with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film could serve as an excellent transparent cranial window for long-period, in vivo optical experiments in mice and rats, and the devices also allowed multiple injections through the elastic PDMS window, without leaking. Our large-area honeycomb structured Ti-PDMS samples had a relative transparent area ratio of over 90% but a mechanical strength close to that of a human skull, showing a promising potential for applications in large animals as multifunctional cranial windows. We also suggested that more functional modules could be integrated in the large-area Ti-PDMS cranial device, thus turning it into a novel wearable smart platform for wireless data communication, electro-probing and brain stimulation, optical imaging, transcranial injection, and so on, for both fundamental research on neuroscience and clinical practices dealing with brain damage and disease.