Understanding the Benefits of Infrared Nerve Stimulators for Neural Interfaces

了解红外神经刺激器对神经接口的好处

• 批准号: 8297930
• 负责人: CLAUS-PETER RICHTER
• 金额: $ 47.02万
• 依托单位: NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-03-01 至 2017-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8297930
• 关键词: Acoustics; Action Potentials; Acute; Animal Model; Animals; Area; Auditory Evoked Potentials; Auditory system; Biological Models; Cavia; Chronic; Cochlea; Cochlear Implants; Collaborations; Data; Development; Devices; Dose; Electric Stimulation; Electrodes; Environment; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; Felis catus; Fiber; Fluorescence; Frequencies; Goals; Hearing; Hearing Impaired Persons; Heating; Histology; Human; Implant; Industry; Inferior Colliculus; Ink; Laboratory Research; Lasers; Light; Location; Maps; Masks; Measurement; Measures; Methods; Modiolus; Music; National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; Nerve; Neurons; Neurophysiology - biologic function; Operative Surgical Procedures; Optics; Pattern; Performance; Phase; Physiologic pulse; Physiological; Population; Preparation; Property; Pulse Rates; Radiation; Research; Resources; Risk Management; Safety; Shapes; Site; Small Business Technology Transfer Research; Source; Spottings; Stimulus; System; Technology; Temperature; Testing; Time; Tissues; Universities; Width; Wireless Technology; base; design; ganglion cell; implantation; improved; in vivo; innovation; insight; miniaturize; neural prosthesis; neural stimulation; neuroprosthesis; pre-clinical; prototype; relating to nervous system; research study; response; round window; speech recognition; spiral ganglion

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal for neuroprostheses is to restore neural function to a condition having the fidelity of a healthy system. However, contemporary neural prostheses, including cochlear implants, are not able to achieve this goal. The devices use electrical current to stimulate the neurons, which spreads in the tissue and consequently does not allow stimulation of focused populations of neurons. Therefore, high fidelity stimulation is no possible. In our model system, the cochlea, it has been argued that the performance of cochlear implant users could be increased significantly if more discrete locations of neurons situated along the electrode could be stimulated simultaneously. This might be possible with devices that use focal optical radiation to stimulate neurons. Today we know that infrared neural stimulation (INS) is possible, that stimulation rates can be achieved that allow encoding of acoustic information, that the spatial selectivity in the cochlea is about five times more selective than electrical stimulation, and that single channel stimulation in chronic experiments shows no functional damage of the cochlea over at least six weeks. The five-year project proposed here is a logical progression of our previous experiments. The aims include validating that the selectivity of INS will result in a larger number of independent channels, demonstrating that a three-channel device can safely stimulate an implanted cochlea over several weeks, and showing that each channel of multichannel INS can independently encode information to be perceived by the auditory system. At the conclusion of the project period we intend to present a prototype for a multi-channel neural interface for the human, here a cochlear implant. To determine the minimum channel separation for independent stimulation, we will implant a three-channel device in deaf cats. Recordings from the inferior colliculus will be used to construct spatial tuning curves (STCs). Non-overlapping STCs indicate separation of the channels. The distance between the stimulation sources will be altered systematically until independent stimulation at neighboring stimulation sources is obtained. By varying stimulus parameters such as the repetition rate, the pulse shape, and the delay between neighboring channels, the experiments will also provide information on the temporal properties of optical stimulation. Long-term stimulation after chronic implantation of a three-channel device into a cat cochlea will determine the safety. Evoked auditory responses will be measured and will provide information on cochlear function and safety. Results will be confirmed through histology. Measurements with temperature sensitive ink will provide important information on the heat load during stimulation. At the conclusion of this project, a prototype human optical cochlear implant will be constructed based on the physical and the optical requirements. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The long-term objective of the proposed experiments is to design and build safe optical neural prostheses with significantly improved spatial selectivity, here increased spatial selectivity for spiral ganglion cell stimulation. As a consequence, it is expected that cochlear implants will provide significantly more independent perceptual channels to the implant user that can be used in parallel and thus improve speech recognition in noisy listening environments and provide music appreciation.

描述（由申请人提供）：神经假体的目标是将神经功能恢复到具有健康系统保真度的状态。然而，当代的神经假体，包括人工耳蜗，无法实现这一目标。这些设备使用电流来刺激神经元，神经元在组织中扩散，因此不允许刺激集中的神经元群。因此，高保真刺激是不可能的。在我们的耳蜗模型系统中，有人认为，如果可以同时刺激位于电极上的更多离散位置的神经元，则可以显着提高人工耳蜗使用者的表现。通过使用聚焦光辐射刺激神经元的设备，这可能是可能的。今天，我们知道红外神经刺激 (INS) 是可能的，可以实现允许对声学信息进行编码的刺激速率，耳蜗的空间选择性大约是电刺激的五倍，并且单通道刺激可用于慢性疾病实验表明，至少六周内耳蜗没有出现功能损伤。这里提出的五年项目是我们之前实验的逻辑进展。目的包括验证 INS 的选择性将产生更多的独立通道，证明三通道设备可以在几周内安全地刺激植入的耳蜗，并证明多通道 INS 的每个通道都可以独立编码信息被听觉系统感知。在项目结束时，我们打算展示一个人类多通道神经接口的原型，这里是人工耳蜗。为了确定独立刺激的最小通道间隔，我们将在聋猫体内植入一个三通道装置。下丘的记录将用于构建空间调谐曲线（STC）。不重叠的 STC 表示通道的分离。刺激源之间的距离将被系统地改变，直到获得相邻刺激源处的独立刺激。通过改变重复率、脉冲形状和相邻通道之间的延迟等刺激参数，实验还将提供有关光刺激的时间特性的信息。将三通道装置长期植入猫耳蜗后的长期刺激将决定其安全性。将测量诱发的听觉反应，并提供有关耳蜗功能和安全性的信息。结果将通过组织学证实。使用温度敏感墨水进行的测量将提供有关刺激过程中热负荷的重要信息。该项目结束时，将根据物理和光学要求构建人体光学人工耳蜗原型。 公共健康相关性：拟议实验的长期目标是设计和构建安全的光学神经假体，其空间选择性显着提高，此处增加了螺旋神经节细胞刺激的空间选择性。因此，预计人工耳蜗将为植入物用户提供更加独立的感知通道，这些通道可以并行使用，从而改善嘈杂聆听环境中的语音识别并提供音乐欣赏。