Cover of VN, Aug. 2, 2014
Article in Vrij Nederland (in Dutch), d. Aug. 2, by Marjolein van Trigt about Child Tracking. In there, Wouter Serdijn explains the possibilities, impossibilities and implications of an implantable RFID child tracker. Click here:
http://www.vn.nl/Archief/Samenleving/Artikel-Samenleving/Een-elektronisch-oogje-op-de-kinderen.htm#
Posted in Electronics, General
arXiv logo
We pre-published an important paper on a new neurostimulation paradigm on arXiv. The paper can be found here: http://arxiv.org/pdf/1406.7185v1.pdf.
Abstract: This paper investigates the efficacy of high frequency switched-mode neural stimulation. Instead of using a constant stimulation amplitude, the stimulus is switched on and off repeatedly with a high frequency (up to 100kHz) duty cycled signal. By means of tissue modeling that includes the dynamic properties of both the tissue material as well as the axon membrane, it is first shown that switched-mode stimulation depolarizes the cell membrane in a similar way as classical constant amplitude stimulation. These findings are subsequently verified using in vitro experiments in which the response of a Purkinje cell is measured due to a stimulation signal in the molecular layer of the cerebellum of a mouse. For this purpose a stimulator circuit is developed that is able to produce a monophasic high frequency switched-mode stimulation signal. The results confirm the modeling by showing that switched-mode stimulation is able to induce similar responses in the Purkinje cell as classical stimulation using a constant current source. This conclusion opens up possibilities for novel stimulation designs that can improve the performance of the stimulator circuitry. Care has to be taken to avoid losses in the system due to the higher operating frequency.
Authored by: M.N. van Dongen, F.E. Hoebeek, S.K.E. Koekkoek, C.I. De Zeeuw, W.A. Serdijn
Posted in General
Chipping a puppy
Yesterday I received a phone call from the Dutch NOS, the largest news organization in the Netherlands with the question whether the news about Martijn Aslander, “professional lifehacker”, who had an RFIC chip implanted in his hand, should be considered important from a news perspective. The answer is “No”. The implanted chip is hardly any more intelligent than those that cats, dogs and cattle are wearing already for many years and since the chip has no means of interaction with its owner, it is nothing more than an implanted passport or any other form of identification.
Aslander may perhaps be the first person in the Netherlands (if you do not count dogs, cats and cattle), but his heroism fades in the shadow of the true pioneer of cyborgs, Sir Kevin Warwick. See, e.g., http://www.kevinwarwick.com/. In the Netherlands and Belgium, true heroes are Eddy van der Velden and Dirk de Ridder (www.braininnovations.nl), who voluntarily had stimulation electrodes implanted to test alternative neurostimulation strategies and thereby contribute to finding better treatments for tinnitus and addiction. It is truly an honor and privilege to collaborate with them.