Development of an integrated control system for external devices using neural information

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The goal of this project is to attain an artificial limb system or a wheelchair that can be controlled with motor information in the same way as patients control their own limbs and also to realize an artificial heart system controlled by autonomic nerve information. We focused on (A) development of a recording system capable of measuring neural signals chronically, (B) analysis of neural system during learning the property of external devices and (C) development of an integrated control system for external devices using neural information.First we developed a recording system. We developed various flexible neural probes with sufficient flexibility to achieve minimally invasive interlacing using flexible films. As the first step, we focused on producing a flexible substrate for the probes. Then we focused on the flexibility of the whole neural probe structure. We achieved this by using parylene. By holding the tip of the probes, the electrode became capable of three-dimensional recording with complete flexibility. As the probe was too flexible to be inserted into neural tissues, we proposed a new method of insertion using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the coating material. Then we developed flexible probes that had micro-fluidic channels integrated into the probe that can be used to inject various materials such as medicines or genes into neural tissues and achieve a stable interface with the nervous system.Then we developed an integrated control system in which a vehicle was controlled by the neural signals from the primary motor cortex of a rat. We estimated the walking speed of a rat by the weighted firing rates in the primary motor cortex. We also developed a control system for an artificial heart using autonomic nerve information of rabbits and goats.