Design and Mechanism

The Stentrode is a stent-shaped electrode array developed by Synchron that is mounted on a standard neurovascular catheter. The Stentrode avoids brain surgery and is delivered through the patient’s native vascular system, with a catheter guided through the jugular vein to the superior sagittal sinus, without penetrating the cortex.

Vascular Placement

The Stentrode is positioned in the superior sagittal sinus, a major cerebral vein that carries blood from motor cortex regions. Recording electrodes along the stent length capture neural activity from the surrounding cortex through the thin vascular wall, achieving functional signal quality despite the extracortical positioning.

Surgical Advantages

The endovascular delivery approach offers significant surgical advantages over open cranial procedures. The implantation uses standard neuroradiology techniques familiar to interventional neuroradiologists, leveraging existing infrastructure, expertise, and implantation procedures.

Clinical Translation

The reliance on established vascular access pathways suggests potential for relatively rapid clinical adoption once regulatory approval is secured. A next-generation Stentrode, with no external module near the skin and up to 16 command outputs, entered the FOCUS-AUS trial in Australia in May 2026.

Biocompatibility Considerations

Positioning within the vascular system eliminates direct contact between electrodes and brain tissue, potentially reducing chronic scarring and inflammatory responses compared to intracortical arrays. The stent substrate is composed of biocompatible materials used routinely in cardiovascular and neurovascular applications.