SCH: INT: Collaborative Research: Physiological Studies of Brain Signals using a Wireless Neuro-Sensing-Diagnostic System

Background Brain implant technology represents an enormous potential for countless future prospects centering on human well-being: scientific discoveries, treatments and prosthetics for the disabled, and even opportunities to advance the mind of the healthy and ablebodied. Possibilities include the understanding and potentially manipulating of the aging process of the brain, restoration of physical control for paralyzed patients, enhancing the capabilities of healthy brains, etc. However, this promising technology has persistently remained confined for the past few decades. These restraints are primarily due to the inadequate safety of implant devices. Two basic and most immediate safety concerns includes the (1) manner of connecting to and obtaining electrical signals from the implant, and (2) the heat generated by the implant. One of the main limiting safety factors involves the wires and cables used to connect to the implant inside the brain. The current practice to introduce an implant in the brain is to connect the implant via wires through the cranial to the outside (Waziri 2009) (Figure 1). These wires not only restrict the physical movements and hinder the natural lifestyle and comfort of the patient, but also greatly endanger the safety of the individual. Because the wires form a physical link from the brain to the external environment, the brain is likely to incur infection and/or introduction of hazardous particles. Furthermore, movements of these wires will physically damage, injure, and/or mutilate the brain itself. Thus, a basic requirement to ensure safety implies removing the wires and creating a wireless connection to the implant. Figure 1: An example of current practice of having neural implant on a human subject. The microarray insertion procedure starts with A) Set-up of the surgical field following craniotomy, dural opening, and preliminary grid insertion. The positioning device for the impactor wand has been attached to a Greeenberg retractor system. B) Close-up view of the positioning device, demonstrating multi-dimensional capability for fine-tuning of the impactor wand. C) Close-up of the impactor wand near the cortical target, in preparation for microarray implantation. D) View of microarray following trans-pial insertion and stabilization with silk sutures to the dural edge. E)Close-up of the implanted microarray, demonstrating mild sub-pial hemorrhage. F) Final appearance of the device pedestal following wound closure. (Waziri 2009). Comment [JC1]: I am putting the background of neural recording. Now, I think Julian needs to massage this section quite a bit as what we want to deliver in the proposed research is not only to advance neural recording technology but also to INTEGRATE the technological advancement to psychological