CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Neurotechnology firm Axoft has begun commercializing its proprietary material, Fleuron™, a bio-inspired platform designed to improve the performance and safety of implantable brain-computer interfaces (iBCIs). The launch follows the material’s successful use in a first-in-human clinical study and comes with the backing of an exclusive licensing agreement with Stanford University, which holds the core intellectual property.
Fleuron is up to 10,000 times softer than the polyimide used in conventional brain implants and as much as 1 million times softer than silicon, helping reduce tissue damage, scarring, and implant migration over time. The material mimics the mechanical properties of brain tissue while supporting high-density neural interfaces—features that position it as a promising advance for long-term brain-electronics integration.
The material passed ISO-10993 biocompatibility standards and was authorized for human use in a study at The Panama Clinic, marking a key milestone for soft neural implants.
“Fleuron is specifically engineered to stabilize the tissue-electronics interface over long periods, preventing scar formation and improving implant fidelity,” said Axoft co-founder and CEO Dr. Paul Le Floch. “It opens the door to a broad array of applications where biology and hardware converge—from iBCIs and biohybrid systems to organ-on-a-chip devices and microfluidics.”
Initially developed at Stanford University by Axoft co-founder Dr. Jia Liu during his postdoctoral work in the lab of Professor Zhenan Bao, Fleuron has since been refined for scalability in collaboration with Dr. Le Floch at Harvard University. Stanford has granted Axoft exclusive rights to the underlying technology for use in neurological treatments, bioelectronics, and biomedical micro-electromechanical systems (bioMEMS).
Axoft is already using Fleuron in its next-generation iBCIs, which have demonstrated high signal stability and data throughput in preclinical testing. Several academic and industrial institutions are also adopting Fleuron for R&D purposes, according to the company.
With its unique combination of ultra-softness, biocompatibility, and manufacturing compatibility, Fleuron may signal a new standard in the design of long-term implantable devices.
