Optimizing concentric ring electrode design for noninvasive electrophysiological measurement

美国国家科学基金会部落学院和大学计划（TCUP）的使命是建立为美国土著人口服务的教育机构的研究和教学能力。该项目由Dine学院管理，名为“优化无创电生理测量的同心环电极设计”，与TCUP的使命非常吻合。本研究项目的目标是改进同心环电极传感器（CRE）的设计，该传感器用于生物医学技术，以监测活组织的健康状况。这项研究致力于提高该技术在检测组织电信号方面的准确性，然后将其应用于提高医生诊断患者病情的能力。本项目建立并扩展了迪因学院工程应用数学实验室（MEA实验室）的主要研究方向。通过该项目提供的MEA实验室的带薪本科生研究助理职位，它还支持了学院为学生提供强大学习机会的使命。这一研究重点很重要，因为估计每个电极表面拉普拉斯量的能力构成了cre的主要生物医学意义。通过优化CRE设计进一步提高拉普拉斯估计的准确性，可能有助于许多无创电生理测量系统的发展，这些系统目前使用CRE来获取来自大脑、肠道、心脏或子宫的诊断电信号。本研究项目的目标将通过以下方式实现：1)扩展一般环间距离优化问题在广泛条件下的解决方案；2)将中心圆盘半径和同心圆的单个宽度与目前包含的环数和环间距离等参数一起纳入CRE设计优化过程。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The mission of the NSF Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is build the research and instructional capacity of education institutions serving Indigenous populations in the United States. The project, administered by Dine College and titled "Optimizing Concentric Ring Electrode Design for Noninvasive Electrophysiological Measurement", aligns well with the TCUP mission. The goal of this research project is to improve the design of concentric ring electrodes sensors (CRE), which are used in biomedical technology to monitor the health of living tissues. The research strives to boost the accuracy of the technology in detecting electrical signals from tissue, which can then be applied to improve doctors' ability to diagnose their patients' conditions. This project builds on and expands the primary research direction of the Mathematics for Engineering Applications laboratory (MEA lab) at Dine College. Through the paid undergraduate research assistant positions with the MEA lab the project provides, it also supports the mission of the college to deliver robust learning opportunities for students.This research focus is important because the ability to estimate the surface Laplacian at each electrode constitutes the primary biomedical significance of CREs. Further improvement of the accuracy of Laplacian estimation via optimal CRE designs may contribute to the advancement of numerous noninvasive electrophysiological measurement systems that currently use CREs to acquire diagnostic electrical signals from the brain, intestines, heart or uterus, for example. The goal of this research project will be achieved by 1) expanding the solutions of the general inter-ring distances optimization problem for a wide range of conditions, and 2) incorporating the radius of the central disc and individual widths of the concentric rings into the CRE design optimization process along with the currently included parameters such as the number of rings and inter-ring distances.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.