UK-Japan Neural Interfaces N+N Workshop

神经接口是直接与神经系统交互的设备，绕过通常的感觉和运动方式。这种装置具有许多临床应用，特别是作为设计用于替代因神经损伤或疾病而丧失的功能的神经假体。人工耳蜗是最成功的神经假体之一，它通过将声音直接转换为听觉神经的电刺激来恢复全世界约15万人的听力。英国和日本的研究人员正在研究神经接口的新应用，例如治疗失明的视网膜植入物，或允许瘫痪患者通过直接来自大脑的信号控制计算机或辅助设备的脑机接口。然而，仍然存在相当大的挑战，例如开发可以安全植入患者体内的生物相容性电极，以及了解大脑中的信号如何编码信息。我们正在组织一个为期两天的研讨会，将允许十名英国领先的研究人员和十名日本同行介绍他们的工作报告。除了传播最新的研究成果外，研讨会还将成为一个讨论论坛，以确定开发成功的神经接口的关键科学和技术要求，以促进国际合作。这种合作将有助于保持英国在神经技术领域的世界领先地位，并刺激新的研究，从而开发出可以帮助相当多患者的临床设备。

Neural interfaces are devices that interact directly with the nervous system, bypassing the usual sensory and motor modalities. Such devices have a number of clinical applications, in particular as neural prostheses designed to replace functions lost through neural injury or disease. One of the most successful neural prostheses is the cochlear implant, which has restored hearing in around 150,000 people worldwide and works by converting sound directly into electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. Researchers in the UK and Japan are working on new applications for neural interfaces, for example retinal implants to treat blindness, or Brain-Machine Interfaces to allow paralysed patients to control computers or assistive devices via signals derived directly from the brain. However, considerable challenges remain, for example developing biocompatible electrodes that can safely be implanted into patients, and understanding how information is encoded by signals in the brain. We are organising a two-day workshop which will allow ten leading UK researchers and ten Japanese counterparts to present reports on their work. As well as disseminating the latest research findings, the workshop will be a forum for discussions to identify key scientific and technological requirements for developing successful neural interfaces in order to promote international collaboration. Such collaborations will help maintain the UK's place as a world-leader in neurotechnology, as well as stimulating new research leading to clinical devices that could help a considerable patient population.