Your new experience awaits. Try the new design now and help us make it even better

METHODS article

Front. Neurosci.

Sec. Neuroprosthetics

This article is part of the Research TopicAdvanced Technologies in Wireless Neural Interfaces: From Animal Models to Human ApplicationsView all articles

Pre-Clinical Development of a Wireless Neural Interface System for Osseointegrated Prosthetic Control in sheep

Provisionally accepted
LUCAS Alan SEARSLUCAS Alan SEARS1Ashlesha DeshmukhAshlesha Deshmukh2Rishith MereddyRishith Mereddy1Vinson GoVinson Go3Brett NemkeBrett Nemke4Yan LuYan Lu4Weifeng ZengWeifeng Zeng1Aaron J SuminskiAaron J Suminski2,5Dr. Mark D. MarkelDr. Mark D. Markel4Kent BachusKent Bachus6,7James MorizioJames Morizio3Samuel Oliver PooreSamuel Oliver Poore1,8Aaron M. DingleAaron M. Dingle1,8*
  • 1Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States
  • 2University of Wisconsin Madison - Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering, Madison, United States
  • 3Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, United States
  • 4School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States
  • 5Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States
  • 6Department of Orthopaedics, School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, United States
  • 7George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, United States
  • 8VA Medical Center Madison, Madison, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Select one of your emails

You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:

Notify me on publication

Please enter your email address:

If you already have an account, please login

You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here

The Osseointegrated Neural Interface (ONI) is an innovative peripheral nerve interface design that houses a transected nerve and coupled electrical components within the medullary canal of long bones for eventual prosthetic control. Before the ONI can enter clinical testing, it must demonstrate longitudinal durability in an animal model analogous to the human anatomy. Adult sheep, possessing comparable weight and bone structure to adult humans, serve as the standard model for osseointegration research, solidifying them as the ideal animal for the development of an ONI. In this paper, we introduce an Ovine ONI model with a wireless, dual capsule implantable peripheral nerve interface capable of remote stimulation and recording of our subject’s nervous system 8 weeks post-implantation. This study investigates the interface design, surgical methodology, radiological evidence, and electrophysiological data that substantiate the osseointegrated approach to interfacing with the peripheral nervous system. We also explore the functional specifications, 3D printing, and coating processing steps for the capsule. Furthermore, our exploration includes the post-processing data analysis methodology used to validate our interface. This methodological study not only contributes crucial insights but also establishes the essential foundation for future goals of the ONI project. Emphasizing real-world applicability through closed-loop interfacing and enhanced efficacy of recording devices

Keywords: peripheral nerve interface, large animal model, Osseo integration, Surgical methodology, Telemetry

Received: 06 Aug 2025; Accepted: 23 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 SEARS, Deshmukh, Mereddy, Go, Nemke, Lu, Zeng, Suminski, Markel, Bachus, Morizio, Poore and Dingle. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Aaron M. Dingle, dingle@surgery.wisc.edu

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material