Advanced Design of Peripheral Nerve Interface Technologies

提高我们对电信号如何在导电电极和周围神经系统之间相互作用的理解对于开发创新和有效的神经假体技术至关重要。这需要跨学科的方法，其中电学的基本原理被应用于检测和表征发生在周围神经系统内的潜在电化学变化。在这项发现基金中，我们建议探索新的方法，以更好地促进人类神经系统与电子设备的交流。本应用程序的主要目标是探索神经电极界面的物理特性，这将指导新型神经假肢系统的设计：(1)使用微创神经刺激方法选择性电激活周围神经（增强经皮神经电刺激），(2)设计神经袖记录电极，用于长期测量多种生理信号（选择性神经记录），以及(3)使用急性和慢性植入研究对电极设计进行体内验证。原型设备将根据我们的计算模型的结果设计和制造；而关键的性能特征将被量化，以指导这项技术在人类中的潜在翻译。

Improving our understanding of how electrical signals interact between electrically-conductive electrodes and the peripheral nervous system is critical for developing innovative and effective neural prosthesis technology. This requires an interdisciplinary approach, where the fundamental principles of electricity are applied to detect and characterize the underlying electrochemical changes that occur within the peripheral nervous system. In this Discovery Grant, we propose to explore novel methods than can better facilitate the communication of the human nervous system with electronic devices. The primary objectives of this application are to explore the physical properties of nerve-electrode interfaces that will guide the design of novel neural prosthetic systems: (1) selective electrical activation of peripheral nerves using a minimally-invasive nerve stimulation approach (enhanced transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), (2) design of nerve cuff recording electrodes for long-term measurement of multiple physiological signals (selective neural recording), and (3) in vivo validation of electrode designs using both acute and chronic implant studies. Prototype devices will be designed and fabricated based on results from our computational models; while key performance characteristics will be quantified for guiding the potential translation of this technology in humans.