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，并给医疗保健系统和经济带来越来越大的负担。一种主要的神经退行性疾病是阿尔茨海默病（AD），它会导致记忆和认知丧失。阿尔茨海默病和痴呆症影响了大约110万加拿大人，每年在加拿大造成104亿美元的经济损失。目前，没有治愈或有效的治疗方法。《柳叶刀》神经病学委员会最近表示，一种有效的阿尔茨海默病治疗方法可能是现代医学面临的最大的未满足需求。“这个项目解决了理解大脑中涉及**记忆的神经元回路的挑战，目标是提高阿尔茨海默病和**痴呆的神经刺激疗法的疗效。这种治疗将刺激特定的大脑回路，以促进AD或痴呆患者的记忆编码和/或检索。该项目将创造一种新型的无线、可植入的脑深部探针，用于啮齿动物的记忆丧失救援实验**，使用光刺激和电刺激+记录特定的神经元群**。重要的是，这些脑探针将使用与半导体微电子相同的工艺和基础设施来制造，以确保与批量生产的兼容性和可行的技术转化路径，这将广泛造福神经科学家和临床研究人员。**该项目汇集了来自世界各地在光子学、电子、神经科学和深部脑刺激方面的世界级专业知识。除了加拿大团队成员外，该项目还包括法国和美国的合作者，他们将在神经探针的设计、制造和测试方面提供互补的专业知识。这个国际项目的**成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 on**the healthcare system and economy. A major neurodegenerative disease is Alzheimers**disease (AD), which causes memory and cognition loss. AD and dementia affect roughly 1.1**million Canadians and incur an economic cost of $10.4B per year in Canada. Currently, there**is no cure or effective treatment. The Lancet Neurology Commission recently stated, an**effective 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 in**memory, with the goal of improving the efficacy of neurostimulation therapies for AD and**dementia. Such treatments would stimulate specific brain circuits to promote memory**encoding and/or retrieval in patients with AD or dementia. The project will create a new type**of wireless, implantable deep brain probes for rodent experiments on memory loss rescue**that uses optical stimulation and electrical stimulation+recording of specific groups of**neurons. Importantly, these brain probes will be made using the same processes and**infrastructure as semiconductor microelectronics to ensure compatibility with volume**manufacturing and a viable technology translation path that will widely benefit neuroscientists**and 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 team**members, the project involves collaborators in France and United States who will provide**complementary expertise in the design, fabrication, and testing of the neural probes. The**results of this international project will benefit the health of Canadians and lead to high-value**neurotechnology products that are designed and integrated in Canada.