Stimulus Delivery and Response Hardware for fMRI Studies in Substance Abuse

成瘾是我们社会的一个关键问题，涉及复杂的大脑过程，其中感官刺激和与环境的相互作用是理解和治疗的关键因素。该项目旨在开发一个全面的硬件产品系列，用于在脑成像研究期间唤起强烈的感官和体验互动。特别是，该项目将评估感官体验和互动的质量如何影响与渴望和成瘾有关的大脑通路。专门的刺激和控制硬件将被设计并用于功能磁共振成像研究，以评估该技术的额外好处。这项工作包括整合先进的刺激呈现技术、前沿的沉浸式VR技术和基于功能磁共振成像的大脑成像。它将提供一个全面的硬件产品系列，可以在fMRI研究期间一起或独立使用，并可能在药物滥用治疗过程中使用。所提出的fMRI外围硬件包括：1）立体投影仪系统，以增加沉浸感; 2）具有力和触觉反馈的集成数据手套，使得能够利用虚拟对象进行抓握研究; 3）气味递送系统，其能够向受试者呈现多种气味; 4）味道递送系统，其能够直接向舌头提供多种味道; 5）具有主动噪声消除功能的听觉刺激传递系统，可显著衰减扫描仪噪声; 6）具有操纵杆和按钮的游戏手柄控制器，可在MRI扫描仪内部或外部的VR研究期间控制移动和响应。除了在功能磁共振成像研究中对所有硬件进行初步测试以证实其效果外，一项针对吸烟者的比较功能磁共振成像研究将测试硬件提供感官增强VR模拟的能力，这是对渴望研究中更传统的静态图像的改进。商业和营销计划是保守的，并基于成功的模式心理学软件工具公司（PST）已在过去的利基市场产品开发和营销使用。工作人员包括计算机化实验，脑成像和功能磁共振成像成瘾研究的领导者，他们与大学研究人员合作，提供市场领先的实验控制技术（超过10，000名研究人员使用E-Prime）和功能成像系统（IFIS安装在200多个MRI站点）。该商业计划建立在过去的记录，导致每个SBIR第二阶段的研究计划正在过渡到一个市场领先的技术，超过300万美元的商业销售在五年内。许多研究人员的未来研究将利用已开发的技术来促进对涉及成瘾和认知的大脑过程的理解，并提供有利可图的收入流，以继续在不断增长的大脑，认知和成瘾的研究界面中进行创新。该项目将进行必要的科学研究和开发，以提供一个全面的硬件产品系列，用于在fMRI脑成像过程中有效和可靠地唤起强烈的感觉和实验互动。这些工具的可用性使未来的科学研究工作成为可能或得到进一步的发展，将促进对与成瘾行为和认知相关的大脑过程的理解。这种理解将被用来评估和治疗关键的社会药物滥用问题，这些问题已经成为我们国家健康的瘟疫，影响到数百万人，并无视目前的解决方案。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Addiction is a critical issue for our society and involves complex brain processes in which sensory stimulation and interaction with the environment are key factors for its understanding and treatment. This project proposes to develop a comprehensive family of hardware products for evoking intense sensory and experiential interaction during brain imaging studies. In particular the project will assess how the quality of the sensory experience and interaction affects brain pathways involved in craving and addiction. Specialized stimulation and control hardware will be engineered and used in fMRI studies to evaluate the added benefit of the technology. The effort involves integrating advanced technology for stimulus presentation, leading edge immersive VR technology, and fMRI based brain imaging. It will provide a comprehensive family of hardware products that can be used together or independently during fMRI studies and potentially during the course of drug abuse treatment efforts. The proposed fMRI peripheral hardware includes: 1) a stereo projector system to increase the sense of immersion; 2) an integrated dataglove with force and tactile feedback enabling grasping studies with virtual objects; 3) an odor delivery system capable of presenting multiple odors to a subject; 4) a taste delivery system capable of providing multiple tastes directly to the tongue; 5) an auditory stimulus delivery system with active noise cancellation to dramatically attenuate scanner noise; 6) a gamepad controller with joystick and buttons enabling control movement and responses during VR studies inside or outside of an MRI scanner. In addition to preliminary testing with subjects during fMRI studies of all the hardware to substantiate its effects, a comparative fMRI study with smokers will test the ability of the hardware to deliver sensory augmented VR simulations that are an improvement over the more traditional use of static images in craving studies. The business and marketing plan are conservative and based on the successful model Psychology Software Tools Inc (PST) has used in past niche market product development and marketing. The staff includes leaders in computerized experimentation, brain imaging and fMRI addiction research who have a history of working with university researchers to provide market leading technology in experimental control (E- Prime is used by over 10,000 researchers) and functional imaging systems (IFIS is installed at over 200 MRI sites). The business plan builds on the past track record that has resulted in every SBIR phase II research program being transitioned into a market leading technology with over three million dollars of commercial sales within five years. Future research by many investigators would utilize the developed technology to advance understanding of brain processes involving addiction and cognition and provide a profitable income stream to continue innovation in the growing research interface of brain, cognition and addiction. This project will conduct the scientific research and development necessary to provide a comprehensive family of hardware products for effectively and reliably evoking intense sensory and experimental interaction during fMRI brain imaging. Future scientific research efforts made possible or furthered by the availability of these tools will advance the understanding of the brain processes related to addictive behavior and cognition. This understanding will be used to assess and treat key societal substance abuse problems which have become a plague upon the health of our nation, affecting millions of individuals and defying current solutions.