Neuro-implants can be used in patients to improve their autonomy and quality of life; however, the market approval of modern neuro-implants often takes decades. The absence of standardized testing methods for long-term function inhibits a systematic comparison of emerging probe designs and materials, hindering progress in the field. Despite extensive research in materials and technology development, this lack of reliable methods for evaluating long-term performance, hinders manufacturers of intracortical implants to produce devices intended for use beyond 30 days. Acknowledging this limitation, ongoing efforts to develop objective quality criteria for neural implants gain significance. Publications that focus on the longevity of intracortical implants mainly investigate either the tissue reaction, or the impedance of the electrodes. There is no all-encompassing testing process that covers more than one or two failure modes. This demonstrates the need for well-defined criteria in material and device characterization, probe implantation, as well as protocols for histological tissue analysis, electrical recording, and the following analysis of all collected data. Thus, we investigate modern objective test procedures to improve the measurement and predictability of implant longevity. This will also contribute to a reduction in reliance on animal testing in the continual refinement and validation of neural probes by collecting standardized data and enabling the development of high-quality simulations. This work was supported by the EU Horizon 2020 programme (GA 814654) and by the BMBF.