Monthly Archives: April 2015

The injectable neurostimulator: an emerging therapeutic device

Posted on 28/04/2015 by | Leave a comment

The injectable neurostimulator: an emerging therapeutic device

Xiaolong Li1, , Wouter A. Serdijn2, Wei Zheng1, Yubo Tian1, Bing Zhang1
1 School of Electronics and Information, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, China
2 Section of Bioelectronics, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands

Available online 25 April 2015

Highlights

  • Injectable neurostimulators (InNSs) for clinical use are necessary to avoid the side effects of the dominant bulky implantable neurostimulator.
  • The concept, implementation challenges, and development trends of the InNS are illustrated in detail.
  • The new generation of InNSs can be powered from a microbattery, a radio-frequency energy harvester, or an inductive coupling link.
  • Obstacles include the implementation of injectable batteries, injectable antennas, and radio-frequency energy harvesters; the realization of InNSs also awaits breakthroughs in soft and bendable materials, reliability, and the mode of injection.

Injectable neurostimulators are currently applied in clinical trials to minimize the side effects such as discomfort, risk of infection, and post-surgery trauma, which can be pronounced with conventional, bulky implantable neurostimulators. Owing to its smaller size, wireless-updatable software, and wireless power supply, the injectable neurostimulator is presumably less invasive, ‘smarter’, and has a longer lifetime. We discuss the concept and development of the injectable neurostimulator, persistent implementation challenges, and obstacles to be overcome in its evolution. We survey the use of new materials, technologies, and design methods for injectable electrodes, batteries, antennas, and packaging to enhance reliability and other features. These advances in the field are accompanied by progress in electrophysiology, neuroscience, neurology, clinical trials, and treatments.

Keywords

  • biocompatible materials;
  • electrical nerve stimulation;
  • injectable neurostimulator;
  • injectable electronic devices;
  • therapeutic device

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Posted in Electronics, Energy Harvesting, General, Neurostimulation and Neuromodulation

REMINDER: ISCAS 2015 Advance Registration Deadline (April 30th) Approaching Quickly

Posted on 26/04/2015 by | Leave a comment

REMINDER: ISCAS 2015 Advance Registration Deadline Notice & Call for Participation

2015 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) Lisbon, Portugal
24-27 May 2015

http://www.iscas2015.org/

ISCAS 2015 HIGHLIGHTS:
– Keynote by Behzad Razavi: “The Future of Radios”
– Keynote by Ronald Dekker: “From Chips for the Living to Living Chips”
– Keynote by Luís Gomes: “Changing the Economics of Space: Small Spacecraft and COTS Electronics”
– John Choma Commemorative Session on Reconfigurable and Adaptive Analog, Mixed-Signal, and Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits, with contributions from Yannis Tsividis, Franco Maloberti, Edgar Sanchez-Sinencio, Hossein Hashemi and Randy Geiger.
– John Choma Commemorative Session on Ultra-Low-Power Integrated Circuits and Systems for Biomedical Implants, with contribution from Mohamad Sawan, Ralph Etienne-Cummings, Wouter Serdijn, Herming Chiueh and Roman Genov.
– Conference Leadership Workshop

HOTEL RESERVATIONS:
Rooms at different hotels in Lisbon have been booked for the convenience of the participants and are to be assigned on a first-come first-served basis. Please visit the conference web site for additional information.

http://www.iscas2015.org/travel/hotels/

Advance Registration Deadline: April 30th

GENERAL CHAIRS’ MESSAGE

Queridos amigos,

On behalf of the Organizing Committee, we are pleased and honored to invite and welcome you to Lisbon and to the 2015 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS 2015). The conference theme, “Enabling Technologies for Societal Challenges”, in line with the 2020 European Research and Innovation Roadmap and the Grand Engineering Challenges, suits extremely well our community’s inter-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary research activities.

ISCAS is the main event of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society and the world’s premier networking forum for leading researchers in the highly active fields of theory, design and implementation of circuits and systems. The Technical Program Co-Chairs for this year edition, João Goes and Philipp Häfliger, have assembled an outstanding program with three full days of lectures and poster sessions covering 16 tracks. The most outstanding contributions to these tracks will be considered for the Best Student Paper Award contest and the Best Live Demo Award contest. The winners of both awards will be selected and announced during the conference.

ISCAS 2015 also offers high-quality and leading–edge tutorials and special sessions from worldwide experts, either in specific and in multidisciplinary areas, suited for those looking for a birds-eye view on a new research area or to improve their areas of expertise.

A set of world-class keynote speeches will be presented.

Apart from the scientific contributions, ISCAS 2015 will offer a forum that promotes the interaction between industry, start-ups, PhD students, academia and research funding agencies. This interaction will have place through industry presence, debates and talks.

ISCAS 2015 maintains the Women in CAS (WiCAS) activity as well as the Young Professionals Program (YPP) activity and will also host a “Conference Leadership Workshop”, a Special “John Choma Commemorative” Session with 10 distinguished invited speakers and other events, further enriching the technical program.

As for the social program we will try to match the quality of the technical program and of the tutorial offerings. On Tuesday, the Award Ceremony will be held in an opera house auditorium followed by the Gala Dinner in the Convento do Beato, a magnificent former monastery that dates back to the 15th century.

ISCAS 2015 will assist in sharing and disseminating your specific and inter- and cross-disciplinary technical achievements and will bring together diverse participants, histories and cultures. We look forward to your active participation in this magnificent event!

Um abraço,
Jorge Fernandes and Wouter Serdijn

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Posted in Education, General

Nieuwe stimulatie-methode effectiever tegen hersen- en zenuwaandoeningen

Posted on 23/04/2015 by | Leave a comment

Persbericht van de TU Delft, uitgegeven vandaag (23 april 2015):
“Nieuwe stimulatie-methode effectiever tegen hersen- en zenuwaandoeningen 

HF_stimulatorHersenstimulatie wordt tegenwoordig succesvol toegepast ter bestrijding van ziektes als Parkinson, chronische depressie, pijn en tinnitus. Door neurostimulatoren energiezuiniger en kleiner te maken, kunnen ze doelgerichter en voor een groter scala aan hersen- en zenuwaandoeningen worden ingezet. Marijn van Dongen maakte een prototype van een chip waarmee deze vorm van neurostimulatie kan worden toegepast. Hij promoveert op vrijdag 24 april op dit onderwerp aan de TU Delft. 

Parkinson

Hersenstimulatie wordt tegenwoordig succesvol toegepast ter bestrijding van ziektes zoals Parkinson, chronische depressie, pijn en tinnitus en er zijn aanwijzingen dat hersenstimulatie ook succesvol kan zijn in de behandelingen van nog veel meer hersenaandoeningen, zoals epilepsie, verslavingen, migraine en dementie. Veel bestaande neuro-stimulatoren hebben echter een beperkte energie-efficiëntie, waardoor een grote batterij nodig is. Een grote batterij maakt de hele neurostimulator groot waardoor deze niet op de plaats geïmplanteerd kan worden waar de stimulatie ook daadwerkelijk nodig is. Vaak verbinden onderhuidse draden de neurostimulator in de borst met de elektroden in de hersenen.

HF

Daarom is aan de TU Delft een nieuwe manier van neurostimulatie onderzocht: hoog-frequente (HF) neurostimulatie. De doelmatigheid van deze HF-stimulatie in aangetoond via simulaties en met in-vitro-metingen (in samenwerking met de afdeling Neurowetenschappen van het Erasmus Medisch Centrum). HF-stimulatie heeft hetzelfde effect op weefsel als klassieke stimulatie, alleen kan HF-stimulatie energiezuiniger zijn. De batterij kan daarmee kleiner worden en er zijn minder ruimte-verslindende componenten nodig.

Pulsjes

‘In mijn promotieonderzoek hebben we gefocust op nieuwe stimulatie-patronen die efficiënt opgewekt kunnen worden’, zegt Marijn van Dongen. ‘In plaats van met een constante stroom, stimuleren we de hersenen met een serie hoogfrequente stroom-pulsjes. Dit soort pulsjes kunnen op een energie-efficiënte manier worden opgewekt dankzij het principe van een geschakelde voeding. We hebben een energiezuinige neurostimulator-chip ontworpen die tot wel 200% energiezuiniger kan zijn dan zijn klassieke tegenhangers. Hierdoor kunnen toekomstige neurostimulatoren kleiner worden gemaakt en daarmee voor een groter scala aan hersen- en zenuwaandoeningen worden ingezet. Bovendien kunnen deze pulsjes verschillende doelen tegelijkertijd activeren en daarmee de doelmatigheid van de neurostimulatie verhogen.’

Prototype

Er is een prototype chip ontwikkeld waarmee deze vorm van neurostimulatie kan worden toegepast. In samenwerking met neurowetenschappers van het Erasmus Universitair Medisch Centrum, de University of Texas at Dallas (VS) en de University of Otago (Nieuw-Zeeland) is de methode succesvol geverifieerd.

Colloquium

Voorafgaand aan de promotie van Marijn van Dongen is er een colloquium over neurostimulatie door prof. Dirk De Ridder: the future of brain, spine and nerve stimulation. Prof.dr. Dirk De Ridder bekleedt de Neurological Foundation Chair in Neurosurgery aan de Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Nieuw-Zeeland (vrijdag 24 april, 10.00-11.15 uur; Snijderszaal: EWI-LB01.010, TU Delft).

Meer informatie
Voor meer informatie neemt u contact op met Marijn van Dongen, afdeling Micro-Elektronica van de faculteit Elektrotechniek, Wiskunde en Informatica, M.N.vanDongen@tudelft.nl, 06 – 435 70479 of met Claire Hallewas, wetenschapsvoorlichter TU Delft, C.R.Hallewas@tudelft.nl, 015 – 27 84259. Het volledige proefschrift vindt u op de TU Delft repository.”

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Posted in Electronics, General, Neurostimulation and Neuromodulation, Understanding the Brain

Electroceuticals: the Shocking Future of Brain Zapping

Posted on 19/04/2015 by | Leave a comment

Electroceuticals are the electronic counterparts of pharmaceuticals

“It’s all in your head—those icky feelings, all that fog—and chemicals just aren’t that great at cutting through. That’s why scientists are experimenting with changing the brain game by tweaking its circuitry, rather than the chemical processes.

It might be a bit unnerving to us seasoned pill-poppers, but some believe that electrical currents could be the new wave in everything cerebral, from treating depression and addiction to enhancements that would enable those seeking that mental edge to learn new skills faster or remember more.”

Read more at: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/electroceuticals-the-shocking-future-of-brain-zapping.

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Posted in Brain-Machine Interfaces, Electronics, General, Neurostimulation and Neuromodulation, Understanding the Brain