Stimulus Delivery and Response Hardware for fMRI Studies in Substance Abuse

描述（由申请人提供）：成瘾是我们社会的一个关键问题，涉及复杂的大脑过程，其中感觉刺激和与环境的相互作用是理解和治疗成瘾的关键因素。本项目拟开发一套全面的硬件产品系列，用于在脑成像研究中唤起强烈的感官和体验互动。特别是，该项目将评估感官体验和相互作用的质量如何影响涉及渴望和成瘾的大脑通路。专门的刺激和控制硬件将被设计并用于fMRI研究，以评估该技术的附加效益。这项工作包括整合先进的刺激呈现技术、领先的沉浸式VR技术和基于功能磁共振成像的脑成像技术。它将提供一个全面的硬件产品系列，可以在功能磁共振成像研究中一起使用或独立使用，也可能在药物滥用治疗过程中使用。提出的fMRI外围硬件包括：1)立体投影系统，增加沉浸感；2)具有力和触觉反馈的集成数据集，可用于虚拟物体的抓取研究；3)能够向对象呈现多种气味的气味传递系统；4)能够直接向舌头提供多种味道的味觉传递系统；5)具有主动降噪功能的听觉刺激传递系统，可显著减弱扫描仪噪声；6)一个带有操纵杆和按钮的手柄控制器，可以在MRI扫描仪内外的VR研究期间控制运动和响应。除了在fMRI研究期间对所有硬件进行初步测试以证实其效果外，对吸烟者进行的比较fMRI研究将测试硬件提供感官增强VR模拟的能力，这是对传统的静态图像在渴望研究中的改进。商业和营销计划是保守的，基于心理学软件工具公司（PST）在过去利基市场产品开发和营销中使用的成功模式。我们的工作人员包括计算机实验、脑成像和fMRI成瘾研究方面的领导者，他们与大学研究人员合作，提供市场领先的实验控制技术（超过10,000名研究人员使用E- Prime）和功能成像系统（超过200个MRI站点安装了IFIS）。该商业计划建立在过去的记录基础上，该记录导致每个SBIR二期研究项目在五年内都转化为市场领先的技术，商业销售额超过300万美元。许多研究者未来的研究将利用已开发的技术来推进对涉及成瘾和认知的大脑过程的理解，并提供一个有利可图的收入流，以继续在不断增长的大脑、认知和成瘾的研究界面中创新。该项目将进行必要的科学研究和开发，以提供一个全面的硬件产品系列，以有效和可靠地唤起fMRI脑成像期间强烈的感官和实验互动。这些工具的可用性使未来的科学研究工作成为可能或进一步推进，将促进对与成瘾行为和认知相关的大脑过程的理解。这种理解将用于评估和治疗主要的社会药物滥用问题，这些问题已成为我国健康的瘟疫，影响到数百万人，并无视目前的解决办法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Addiction is a critical issue for our society and involves complex brain processes in which sensory stimulation and interaction with the environment are key factors for its understanding and treatment. This project proposes to develop a comprehensive family of hardware products for evoking intense sensory and experiential interaction during brain imaging studies. In particular the project will assess how the quality of the sensory experience and interaction affects brain pathways involved in craving and addiction. Specialized stimulation and control hardware will be engineered and used in fMRI studies to evaluate the added benefit of the technology. The effort involves integrating advanced technology for stimulus presentation, leading edge immersive VR technology, and fMRI based brain imaging. It will provide a comprehensive family of hardware products that can be used together or independently during fMRI studies and potentially during the course of drug abuse treatment efforts. The proposed fMRI peripheral hardware includes: 1) a stereo projector system to increase the sense of immersion; 2) an integrated dataglove with force and tactile feedback enabling grasping studies with virtual objects; 3) an odor delivery system capable of presenting multiple odors to a subject; 4) a taste delivery system capable of providing multiple tastes directly to the tongue; 5) an auditory stimulus delivery system with active noise cancellation to dramatically attenuate scanner noise; 6) a gamepad controller with joystick and buttons enabling control movement and responses during VR studies inside or outside of an MRI scanner. In addition to preliminary testing with subjects during fMRI studies of all the hardware to substantiate its effects, a comparative fMRI study with smokers will test the ability of the hardware to deliver sensory augmented VR simulations that are an improvement over the more traditional use of static images in craving studies. The business and marketing plan are conservative and based on the successful model Psychology Software Tools Inc (PST) has used in past niche market product development and marketing. The staff includes leaders in computerized experimentation, brain imaging and fMRI addiction research who have a history of working with university researchers to provide market leading technology in experimental control (E- Prime is used by over 10,000 researchers) and functional imaging systems (IFIS is installed at over 200 MRI sites). The business plan builds on the past track record that has resulted in every SBIR phase II research program being transitioned into a market leading technology with over three million dollars of commercial sales within five years. Future research by many investigators would utilize the developed technology to advance understanding of brain processes involving addiction and cognition and provide a profitable income stream to continue innovation in the growing research interface of brain, cognition and addiction. This project will conduct the scientific research and development necessary to provide a comprehensive family of hardware products for effectively and reliably evoking intense sensory and experimental interaction during fMRI brain imaging. Future scientific research efforts made possible or furthered by the availability of these tools will advance the understanding of the brain processes related to addictive behavior and cognition. This understanding will be used to assess and treat key societal substance abuse problems which have become a plague upon the health of our nation, affecting millions of individuals and defying current solutions.