2020-431 Wireless and Programmable Recording and Stimulation of Deep Brain Activity in Freely Moving Humans Immersed in Virtual, Augmented and Real-World Environments

SUMMARY

UCLA researchers in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences have a designed a lightweight, highly mobile deep brain activity measuring platform that elucidates neural mechanisms for neuropsychiatric disorders.

BACKGROUND

Neuroprosthetics wirelessly record and stimulate deep brain activity in humans to treat epilepsy, movement disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease), and other neuropsychiatric disorders. These systems, however, are designed for treatment rather than research, limiting their use to existing treatment and therapy schemes. In order to develop new and improved therapies, neuroprosthetics require enhancements including programmable control and integration with external biosensors and virtual and augmented reality peripherals. 

INNOVATION

UCLA researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind platform that allows for the study of deep brain mechanisms and testing of deep brain stimulation therapies. This lightweight platform (~9 lbs) wirelessly records and stimulates brain activity in freely moving humans integrated with wearables and virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR) technologies. VR/AR technologies combined with external measurements (e.g., heart rate, skin conductance, respiration, eye-tracking, and scalp EEG) provides a more accurate environment for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying human behaviors.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

• Medical devices measuring deep brain activity
• Treatment development for neuropsychiatric disorders
• Neuropsychiatric disorder research

 ADVANTAGES

• Combined with external measurements
• Studies environment with higher accuracy
• Light (~9 lbs)
• Wireless recording
• More realistic understanding of neural mechanisms

 RELATED MATERIALS

• Topalovic, U., Aghajan, Z.M., Villaroman, D., Hiller, S., Christov-Moore, L., Wishard, T.J., Stangl, M., Hasulak, N.R., Inman, C., Fields, T.A. and Eliashiv, D.,Wireless Programmable Recording and Stimulation of Deep Brain Activity in Freely Moving Humans, bioRxiv 2020.02.12.946434

STATUS OF DEVELOPMENT

Researchers have built working prototype