Magnetics Business & Technology - July/August 2021 - 18

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Figure 1 outlines the original Phase 1 approach, in which MEnTs
are first injected into the circulatory system, localized into the cerebral
tissue using a magnetic field gradient, and then interact with
neural tissue and applied magnetic fields to provide non-surgical
neural interfacing. Several of these goals and N3 program metrics
were achieved during Phase 1, leveraging the multi-modal
expertise of the BrainSTORMS team across the domains of electromagnetics,
nanoscale materials, and neurophysiology. Phase
2 efforts will focus on developing the MEnTs for writing information
to the brain.
Miami who has been leading the effort in nanoparticle synthesis
and characterization. Together with Ping Liang, Khizroev has
pioneered magnetoelectric nanotransducers for medical applications.
Cellular Nanomed Inc., a California-based small business
led by Liang, is developing the external transceiver technology.
MOANA (Magnetic, Optical, and Acoustic Neural Access) led by
Rice University
MOANA project Fig. 1
BrainSTORMS project Fig. 1
Most of the current BCI research, including Battelle's NeuroLife
technology, focuses on helping people with disabilities who must
undergo invasive implant procedures including brain surgery to
enable a BCI that can restore lost function. In the BrainSTORMS
approach, however, the nanotransducer could be temporarily introduced
into the body via injection and then directed to a specific
area of the brain to help complete a task through communication
with a helmet-based transceiver. Upon completion, the nanotransducer
could be magnetically guided out of the brain and into the
bloodstream to be processed out of the body.
Testing for BrainSTORMS
The nanotransducer would
use magnetoelectric nanoparticles
to establish a bi-directional
communication channel
with the brain. Neurons in the
brain operate through electrical
signals. The magnetic core
of the nanotransducers would
convert the neural electrical
signals into magnetic ones
that would be sent through
the skull to the helmet-based
transceiver worn by the user. The helmet transceiver could also
send magnetic signals back to the nanotransducers where they
would be converted to electrical impulses capable of being processed
by the neurons, enabling two-way communication to and
from the brain.
Among the collaborators is Sakhrat Khizroev at the University of
18 Magnetics Business & Technology * July/August 2021
The Moana project, led by a team at Rice University team under
principal investigator Dr. Jacob Robinson, aims to develop a minutely
invasive, bidirectional system for recording from and writing
to the brain. For the recording function, the interface will use diffuse
optical tomography to infer neural activity by measuring light
scattering in neural tissue. To enable the write function, the team
will use a magneto-genetic approach to make neurons sensitive
to magnetic fields.
" The custom power electronics developed by our collaborators
Angel Peterchev and Stefan Goetz at Duke University allow us to
slightly raise the temperature of specific nanoparticles that can be
injected into an animal model, " explains Robinson, associate professor
ECE and BioE at Rice. " When heated, these nanoparticles
made by Gang Bao's lab at Rice can activate select genetically
modified insect brain cells. Using different amplitude and field
strength of magnetic fields we've shown that we can quickly turn
on and off specific behaviors in fruit flies using a remotely applied
magnetic field. In the future, and in conjunction with the US FDA,
we hope to use similar technologies to remotely activate specific
neurons in the visual cortex of humans to help restore sight to
people that suffer from blindness. "
The objective is to design to provide a high-bandwidth brain-computer-interface
without the need for a surgically implanted device.
The device will consist of an array of flexible complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor
(CMOS) chiplets that can conform to the
surface of the scalp and implement our optical readout technology
based on Time-of-Flight Functional Diffuse Optical Tomography
(ToFF-DOT).
In addition, a magnetic stimulation array will be fitted into a head
cap to activate genetically engineered magnetic sensitive ion
channels. This stimulation and readout technology will communicate
wirelessly with a base station and will fold into a volume
of < 125 cm3. The modular system is planned to be configurable
to cover any portion of the head to interface with multiple cortical
regions.
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