Neural Engineering for Stroke Recovery

1. 1 2 3 Neural Engineering for Stroke Recovery Patrick J. Rousche, Ph.D. Bioengineering, and co-PI James Patton, Ph.D. Prime Grant Support: National Science Foundation Career Award and National Institutes of Health Microneurosurgery Device Manufacture • The complex neural tissue of the brain is the source or destination for almost all motor and sensory information in the human body • Injury to the brain from stroke is debilitating and clinicians have few therapeutic treatments to pursue • Neural Engineers are well-positioned to learn more about brain organization and function - multi-channel implants offer one potential mechanism for both understanding the brain and influencing its operation Electrophysiology Animal Behavior • Bio-inspired design. By incorporating biocompatible materials and biological surface coatings, brain implants capable of long-term survival and function may be possible. • Multi-modal sensing. Electrodes can be supplemented with microdialysis techniques to explore the electrical and chemical brain responses before during and after a stroke • Flexible, biocompatible, electrode arrays are photolithograhpically developed and tested in a rat model. • Robotic therapy as a stroke recovery technique can be improved by understanding the underlying brain response • Development of a animal model for stroke and stroke recovery using robotic and other therapies • Demonstration of sensory and motor brain signal recording in awake and behaving rats • Recording both electrical and neurochemical response profiles in the brain before during and after stroke • Demonstration of flexible electrode design and manufacture • Presentations at IEEE-EMBS (Engineering in Medicine and Biology) and BMES (BioMedical Engineering Society conferences) • Future: Therapeutic brain implants for human use