Planning Grant: Engineering Research Center for Neural Engineering Systems with Societal Impact (NESSI)

社会影响神经工程系统工程研究中心（NESSI）慢性和急性疼痛影响着美国约1亿人，并大大增加了全国发病率、死亡率和残疾率。疼痛不仅在很大程度上对个人生活产生负面影响，而且还造成巨大的国家经济成本（每年高达6350亿美元）。阿片类药物的滥用和成瘾，如处方止痛药、海洛因和合成阿片类药物是一个严重的国家危机。目前，每天约有130名美国人死于阿片类药物过量。阿片类药物成瘾也可以由疼痛以外的原因驱动，例如社会、经济和“绝望病”。通过解决这一全国性危机，拟议的中心规划工作将与美国以及佛罗里达州、宾夕法尼亚州和亚利桑那州的一项主要优先事项保持一致，这三个州在2017年的阿片类药物过量死亡人数分别在美国排名第三、第四和第22位。受到工程学与神经科学、神经病学和神经外科领域融合所带来的神经技术突破的启发，来自佛罗里达大学、匹兹堡大学和亚利桑那大学的团队提议，计划建立具有社会影响的神经工程系统中心（NESSI），通过新的神经工程系统，对阿片类药物危机产生持久的变革性影响，这些系统可以显著减少疼痛，并减少成瘾。除了改善人类健康和减轻经济负担的积极社会影响（我们预计，这将通过设想中的中心开发的新神经技术实现）之外，这项ERC规划工作将利用其早期强调的包容性，广泛吸引代表性不足的少数民族和妇女参与所有活动，并与所有利益相关者合作。通过拟议的规划过程，我们多元化的团队将把中心研究、劳动力发展、包容文化和创新生态系统的战略计划整合在一起，形成整个中心的统一愿景。nesi将培养具有技能，培训和经验的毕业生，使他们能够在全球竞争激烈的市场中成功地将创新的神经技术转化为治疗疼痛和成瘾。技术项目描述：受到工程学与神经科学、神经病学和神经外科领域融合所带来的神经技术突破的启发，来自佛罗里达大学、宾夕法尼亚大学和亚利桑那大学的团队提议，计划建立具有社会影响的神经工程系统中心（NESSI），通过新的神经工程系统，对阿片类药物危机产生持久的变革性影响，这些系统可以显著减少疼痛，并减少成瘾。具体来说，我们的战略是开发神经工程工具、技术和系统，以促进对疼痛和成瘾的复杂神经生物学系统的基本理解，并将其转化为新颖、全面和有效的解决方案。尽管神经调节代表了阿片类药物在疼痛管理方面的无药物替代，但存在一些障碍，阻止它取代阿片类药物作为严重口面部、术后和内脏疼痛管理的一线治疗方法。此外，无论是现有的药物还是传统的生物电子神经调节都不具备治疗严重成瘾所需的空间、时间和电路靶向精度。为了克服这些挑战，NESSI将组建一个广泛的学科专家团队，以掌握相关的先进知识(1)社会需求，(2)神经回路，(3)使用建模和人工智能来创建合理设计的可靠的神经接口系统，能够选择性刺激，(4)在先进的临床前模型中验证慢性神经接口系统的有效方法。(5)与领先的从业者和行业建立伙伴关系，为未来成功的临床转化和商业化先进的神经技术来治疗疼痛和成瘾制定路线图。我们提议的erc计划流程将从培训开始，以确保它符合包容性和无意识偏见的最佳实践。接下来，一系列的工作组（WG）会议将集中于5个主要的研究主题：目标、模型、实现、验证和翻译。早期工作组会议的输出，如报告和SWOT分析，将传递给后来的工作组会议，以通知他们的讨论。所有工作组会议的产出将在集成会议上进行审议，该会议的重点是将所有指导意见整合在一起，并为该中心的研究、劳动力发展、包容和创新生态系统组成部分制定初步愿景文件。最后，将组织一次全中心范围的最终战略会议，以巩固中心对所有组成部分的愿景。这项计划拨款将支持制定详细的路线图，以便有针对性地、有效地、高效地利用神经技术治疗更广泛的疼痛状况，并解决严重的阿片类药物成瘾问题。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Planning Grant: Engineering Research Center for Neural Engineering Systems with Societal Impact (NESSI)Chronic and acute pain affect ~100 million people in the US and greatly increase national rates of morbidity, mortality, and disability. Pain not only negatively impacts individual lives in significant ways, it also imposes enormous national economic costs (up to $635B annually). The misuse of and addiction to opioids, such as prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids is a serious national crisis. Currently ~130 Americans die of opioid overdose every day. Opioid addiction can also be driven by causes other than pain, such as social, economic, and "diseases of despair". By tackling this national crisis, the proposed center-planning effort will align with a major priority of the United States and the states of Florida, Pennsylvania, and Arizona which in 2017 had the 3rd, 4th, and 22nd most opioid-overdose deaths in the country respectively. Inspired by the neurotechnological breakthroughs enabled by the convergence of engineering with the fields of neuroscience, neurology, and neurosurgery, teams from the Universities of Florida, Pittsburgh, and Arizona propose to plan the Center for Neural Engineering Systems with Societal Impact (NESSI) to achieve lasting transformative impact on the opioid crisis with new neural-engineered systems that can dramatically reduce pain and others that reduce addiction. In addition to the positive societal impacts of improved human health and reduced economic burden, which we expect will be made possible by new neurotechnologies to be developed by the envisioned center, this ERC planning effort will use its early-stage emphasis on inclusion to extensively engage underrepresented minorities and women in all activities and with all stakeholders. Through the proposed planning process, our diverse team will integrate together strategic plans for the center research, workforce development, culture of inclusion, and innovation ecosystem into a single consistent vision for the entire center. NESSI will develop graduates with skills, training, and experiences that make them well suited to successfully translate innovative neurotechnologies for pain and addiction in a globally competitive marketplace.Technical Project Description: Inspired by the neurotechnological breakthroughs enabled by the convergence of engineering with the fields of neuroscience, neurology, and neurosurgery, teams from the Universities of Florida, Pennsylvania, and Arizona propose to plan the Center for Neural Engineering Systems with Societal Impact (NESSI) to achieve lasting transformative impact on the opioid crisis with new neural-engineered systems that can dramatically reduce pain and others that reduce addiction. Specifically, our strategy is to develop neuroengineered tools, technologies, and systems that advance fundamental understanding of the complex neurobiological systems of pain and addiction in ways that can be translated into novel, comprehensive, and effective solutions. Although neuromodulation represents a drug-free alternative to opioids for pain management, barriers exist that prevent it from replacing opioids as the front-line therapy for the management of severe orofacial, post-surgical, and visceral pain. In addition, neither existing pharmaceuticals nor conventional bioelectronic neuromodulation have the spatial, temporal, and circuit-targeting precision needed to treat severe addiction. To overcome these challenges, NESSI will assemble a broad team of disciplinary experts to advanced knowledge of the relevant (1) societal needs, (2) neural circuits, (3) use of modeling and AI to create rationally designed reliable neural-interface systems capable of selective stimulation, (4) effective methods to validate chronic neural interface systems in advanced preclinical models, and (5) means to build partnerships with leading practitioners and industry to create a roadmap towards future successful clinical translation and commercialization of advanced neurotechnologies to treat pain and addiction. Our proposed ERC-planning process will start with training to ensure it is informed by the best practices of inclusion and unconscious bias. Next, a sequential set of working-group (WG) meetings will focus on 5 primary research themes: Target, Model, Implement, Validate, and Translate. Output from earlier WG meetings, such as reports and SWOT analyses, will be passed on to later WG meetings to inform their discussion. The outputs of all WG meetings will be considered at an Integration Meeting focused on bringing all of the guidance together and developing preliminary vision documents for the research, workforce-development, inclusion, and innovation-ecosystem components of the center. Lastly, a center-wide Final Strategic Meeting will be organized to solidify the center vision for all components. This planning grant will support the creation of a detailed roadmap for targeted, effective, and efficient use of neurotechnology for a wider range of pain conditions and to address severe addiction to opioids.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.