Detachable Subdermal Connectors

Hi,

So, I'm about to engage in a series of experiments that I'll report more on later, once I've gotten further into them, but one thing has always troubled me about subdermal electronics, the only ways I've really seen that have potential to set them up, also tie entire circuits together permanently.  The problem with this, is as soon as any part starts to reject (because of trauma, coating failure, etc.) you've pretty much irreversibly lost the entire circuit.

For the later stages in the project I'm beginning in the immediate future, I'd like some way to connect individual components such that they can be detached and replaced, but at the same time the connections should be strong enough that there is no risk of them coming loose.  This would also be useful for implantation  If parts don't have to be connected when you put them in, you can build circuits over time with minimalistic incisions/hole punching rather than needing to do things all-at-once.  The most ideal thing that comes to mind for me would be a tiny titanium connector that clamps down on inserted wires, but not sure how ideal that is, and can't find anything similar enough to experiment with in the mean time.  It seems possible that it might be possible to adapt some piercing jewelry (i.e. surface bars) to the cause, but screw-ins are less than ideal.

Someone here:
mentioned the idea of automotive connectors for things that didn't have to be medical-grade, and I haven't looked into that a great deal, but I'm skeptical and haven't looked at them enough to make a call.

So, have you guys thought about this?  What have you come up with?

Comments

  • As soon as any part starts to reject, the whole thing's likely to go, in my understanding.
    Wouldn't putting in replacement parts or incrementally building an implant get incredibly messy and awkward? The best implants are small and self-contained - this is true of 'proper' medical ones, too; the only sprawling implant I remember is a pacemaker design that runs a wire internally to waist level and terminates in an induction coil for wireless power, and if you've already got someone's ribcage open, I suppose that's not a hell of a lot more effort.
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