Advanced Design of Peripheral Nerve Interface Technologies

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Improving our understanding of how electrical signals interact between electrically-conductive electrodes and the peripheral nervous system is critical for developing innovative and effective neural prosthesis technology. This requires an interdisciplinary approach, where the fundamental principles of electricity are applied to detect and characterize the underlying electrochemical changes that occur within the peripheral nervous system. In this Discovery Grant, we propose to explore novel methods than can better facilitate the communication of the human nervous system with electronic devices. The primary objectives of this application are to explore the physical properties of nerve-electrode interfaces that will guide the design of novel neural prosthetic systems: (1) selective electrical activation of peripheral nerves using a minimally-invasive nerve stimulation approach (enhanced transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), (2) design of nerve cuff recording electrodes for long-term measurement of multiple physiological signals (selective neural recording), and (3) in vivo validation of electrode designs using both acute and chronic implant studies. Prototype devices will be designed and fabricated based on results from our computational models; while key performance characteristics will be quantified for guiding the potential translation of this technology in humans.