Wireless neurophotonic probes for the interrogation of neurons in memory circuits

随着加拿大和发达国家人口平均年龄的上升，神经退行性疾病将变得越来越普遍，并给医疗体系和经济带来越来越大的负担。阿尔茨海默病(AD)是一种主要的神经退行性疾病，会导致记忆和认知丧失。AD和痴呆症影响着大约110万加拿大人，在加拿大每年造成104亿美元的经济成本。目前，还没有治愈或有效的治疗方法。柳叶刀神经学委员会最近表示，治疗阿尔茨海默病的有效疗法可能是现代医学面临的最大未得到满足的需求。“该项目解决了了解大脑中与记忆有关的神经元电路的挑战，目的是提高神经刺激疗法对阿尔茨海默病和痴呆症的疗效。这种治疗将刺激特定的大脑回路，以促进AD或痴呆症患者的记忆编码和/或检索。该项目将创造一种新型的无线、可植入的大脑深部探头，用于啮齿类动物的记忆丧失拯救实验，使用光刺激和电刺激+记录特定神经元组。重要的是，这些大脑探测器将使用与半导体微电子相同的工艺和基础设施来制造，以确保与批量制造和可行的技术转换路径兼容，这将使神经科学家和临床研究人员广泛受益。该项目汇集了来自全球各地的光子学、电子学、神经科学和脑深部刺激方面的世界级专业知识。除了加拿大的团队成员外，该项目还包括法国和美国的合作者，他们将在神经探头的设计、制造和测试方面提供必要的专业知识。这一国际项目的结果将有益于加拿大人的健康，并导致在加拿大设计和集成的高价值神经技术产品。

As the average age of the population of Canada and the developed world rises,neurodegenerative conditions will become increasingly prevalent and a growing burden onthe healthcare system and economy. A major neurodegenerative disease is Alzheimersdisease (AD), which causes memory and cognition loss. AD and dementia affect roughly 1.1million Canadians and incur an economic cost of $10.4B per year in Canada. Currently, thereis no cure or effective treatment. The Lancet Neurology Commission recently stated, aneffective therapy for AD is perhaps the greatest unmet need facing modern medicine."This project addresses the challenge of understanding neuron circuits in the brain involved inmemory, with the goal of improving the efficacy of neurostimulation therapies for AD anddementia. Such treatments would stimulate specific brain circuits to promote memoryencoding and/or retrieval in patients with AD or dementia. The project will create a new typeof wireless, implantable deep brain probes for rodent experiments on memory loss rescuethat uses optical stimulation and electrical stimulation+recording of specific groups ofneurons. Importantly, these brain probes will be made using the same processes andinfrastructure as semiconductor microelectronics to ensure compatibility with volumemanufacturing and a viable technology translation path that will widely benefit neuroscientistsand clinical researchers.This project brings together world-class expertise from around the globe in photonics,electronics, neuroscience, and deep brain stimulation. In addition to the Canadian teammembers, the project involves collaborators in France and United States who will providecomplementary expertise in the design, fabrication, and testing of the neural probes. Theresults of this international project will benefit the health of Canadians and lead to high-valueneurotechnology products that are designed and integrated in Canada.