Smart multimodal neuroscience platform for enabling untethered behavioural experiments

智能多模式神经科学平台，可实现不受束缚的行为实验

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-05909
• 负责人: Gosselin, Benoit
• 金额: $ 2.62万
• 依托单位: Université Laval
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=710059
• 关键词: Smart; multimodal; neuroscience; platform; enabling

This program aims to develop new tools that will significantly ease and accelerate discovery of innovative therapeutics against neurodegenerative diseases through advanced wireless, multimodal, brain-interfacing technology. We propose to develop an innovative wireless platform to extract the direct brain responses to drugs in real time by probing brain microcircuits of freely behaving rodents with high spatial resolution, and at millisecond time-scale, through single cell electrophysiology technology, optogenetic capabilities, and brain imaging means, all combined within a single chronically implantable device. This smart platform includes a lightweight wireless brain-computer interface (BMI) that is implantable in the body of mice and a wireless power transmission system to avoid frequent animal manipulations. A custom CMOS integrated circuits developed by our team will provide this BMI with large-scale sensing, optogenetic stimulation and fluorescence imaging capability, as well as intelligence, to interface with a new multifunctional BioMEMS that will give access to large groups of neurons at the micro and nano scale. We anticipate to scale down the size, the weight and the energy consumption of this BMI to unprecedented levels (1 cm3, 1g and 10 mW, respectively) by exploiting CMOS technology and multitechnology integration. All components will be developed through CMC Microsystems' academic services and integrated within a chronically implantable, autonomous microsystem, at the Advanced Biomedical Microsystem Integration Facility of the ECE Dept. in Laval University. In addition to enable several innovations and to address key challenges in microsystem design, wireless communications, energy harvesting and biomedical engineering, this program will develop a unique and world-class expertise in wireless instrumentation technology that will become the corner stone for the development of optogenetics and neuroscience research platforms for medicine and biomedical industries in Canada. This new technology will provide a unique platform to accelerate ground breaking research towards new treatments for brain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, depression, and chronic pain, by enabling observation of brain microcircuits of freely behaving subjects in real time, which will have a measurable impact on the wealth of Canadians by reducing costs of healthcare, enabling new therapies and providing new tools to advance research. Indeed, the capability of precisely measuring the direct response of the brain to drugs at the scale of individual neurons at millisecond time-scale, yet during behaviour, will provide a direct performance indicator to increase drugs efficiency. On the long term, this research will leave a durable contribution by training, hiring, and retaining highly qualified personnel in biomedical engineering.

该计划旨在开发新的工具，通过先进的无线，多模式，大脑接口技术，大大简化和加速发现针对神经退行性疾病的创新疗法。我们建议开发一种创新的无线平台，通过探测具有高空间分辨率的自由行为啮齿动物的大脑微电路，并在毫秒级的时间尺度上，通过单细胞电生理学技术，光遗传学能力和大脑成像手段，所有这些都结合在一个单一的长期植入式设备中，来真实的时间提取对药物的直接大脑反应。 这个智能平台包括一个可植入小鼠体内的轻量级无线脑机接口（BMI）和一个无线电力传输系统，以避免频繁的动物操作。由我们团队开发的定制CMOS集成电路将为该BMI提供大规模传感，光遗传学刺激和荧光成像能力以及智能，以与新的多功能BioMEMS接口，该接口将在微米和纳米尺度上访问大量神经元。我们期望通过利用CMOS技术和多技术集成，将BMI的尺寸、重量和能耗降低到前所未有的水平（分别为1 cm 3、1 g和10 mW）。所有组件都将通过CMC微系统公司的学术服务开发，并在ECE部的高级生物医学微系统集成设施中集成到一个长期可植入的自主微系统中。在拉瓦尔大学。 除了实现多项创新并解决微系统设计，无线通信，能量收集和生物医学工程方面的关键挑战外，该计划还将在无线仪器技术方面开发独特的世界级专业知识，这将成为加拿大医学和生物医学行业光遗传学和神经科学研究平台开发的基石。这项新技术将提供一个独特的平台，通过真实的时间观察自由行为受试者的大脑微电路，加速对阿尔茨海默病和帕金森病，癫痫，抑郁症和慢性疼痛等脑部疾病新疗法的突破性研究，这将通过降低医疗保健成本对加拿大人的财富产生可衡量的影响，实现新的疗法，并提供新的工具来推进研究。事实上，在毫秒时间尺度上精确测量大脑对单个神经元的药物直接反应的能力，但在行为期间，将提供一个直接的性能指标，以提高药物的效率。从长远来看，这项研究将通过培训，雇用和留住生物医学工程方面的高素质人才做出持久的贡献。