CAREER: Intellectual Infrastructure and Critical Enabling Technology Development for Advanced Neural Engineering Applications

神经工程领域正站在医疗保健领域另一场技术革命的边缘。植入严重受损神经病患者大脑的单个微电极被用来在人类神经细胞和外部世界的计算机之间建立直接联系，为脑干中风患者提供了一种与医护人员和家人进行粗略交流的手段。相反，植入的微电极也可以用来将信息从外部世界直接传输到大脑中，从而使患有耳聋或失明等疾病的患者受益。有针对性的多通道电刺激大脑的视觉或听觉中心可以诱导有用的感官知觉。这项拟议研究的总体目标是同时培养该国的智能神经工程基础设施，同时开发关键的使能技术，这些技术将导致皮质神经假体植入系统的设计、测试和最终的常规临床实施，以帮助患有各种神经功能障碍的人。该计划有5个主要目标：1)设计一个新的三维神经接口结构，利用机械灵活的、具有多个电极位置的神经兼容的衬底；2)应用和量化神经营养组织工程技术，以提高植入电极的性能和寿命；3)量化皮质感受场重组(可塑性)的时空动力学；4)通过生物工程夏令营和课后实习，向传统上代表不足的芝加哥高中生介绍神经工程的概念；5)通过学分跟踪向生物工程学生介绍临床神经工程。这些目标的成功完成将导致高通道计数、批量制造、可植入的神经营养电极系统的展示，这些电极系统对于临床和基础神经科学使用的高级神经接口至关重要，并将扩大体外和体内(大鼠模型)神经应用的边界。该提案带来了一种多学科和系统的方法来解决神经工程和大脑接口的关键问题。

0348145RouscheThe field of neural engineering is standing at the brink of another technological revolution in health care. Single microelectrodes implanted into the brain of severely compromised neurological patients have been used to create a direct link between human nerve cells and computers in the external world, providing a means for a brainstem stroke patient to crudely communicate with health care attendants and family. Conversely, implanted microelectrodes may also be used to transfer information from the external world directly into the brain, thus benefiting patients with disorders such as deafness or blindness. Targeted multichannel electrical stimulation of visual or auditory centers of the brain could induce usable sensory perceptions. The overall goal of the proposed investigation is to simultaneously nurture the country's intellectual neural engineering infrastructure while developing the critical enabling technologies that will result in the design, testing, and eventual routine clinical implementation of cortical neuroprosthetic implant systems to assist people with a variety of neurological dysfunctions. The plan has 5 major objectives: 1) to engineer a novel three-dimensional neural interface architecture utilizing a mechanically-flexible, neurocompatible substrate with multiple electrode sites; 2) to apply and quantify neurotrophic tissue engineering techniques towards improvements in performance and longevity of implanted electrodes; 3) to quantify spatiotemporal dynamics of receptive field reorganization (plasticity) in cortex; 4) to introduce concepts of neural engineering to traditionally under-represented Chicago high-school students via a Bioengineering summer camp followed by after-school internships and 5) to introduce Bioengineering students to clinical neural engineering via for-credit .shadowing. programs in clinical neurology, audiology, ophthalmology and neurosurgery.The successful completion of these objectives will result in the demonstration of high-channel count, batch-fabricated, implantable neurotrophic electrode systems essential for advanced neural interfaces for clinical and basic neuroscience use and will expand the boundaries of in vitro and in vivo (rat model) neural applications. The proposal brings a multi-disciplinary and systems approach to solving critical problems in neural engineering and brain interfacing.