A major goal of neuroscience is to study the functional organization of the nervous system in animals to generate the knowledge that will eventually aid in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and dysfunction in the human brain. In vivo electrophysiology (in live animal subjects) has been a powerful tool in pursuing that goal. It has provided groundbreaking information on areas ranging from the organization of primary visual cortex to neural correlates of working memory, which has helped in the treatment of disorders ranging from schizophrenia to epilepsy to depression. It has also helped in evaluation of various interventions in translational research on new medications and neuroprosthetic devices. Many experimental questions, particularly in behavioral neuroscience, require awaken freely moving subjects, and logistical constraints such as issues of cost, life-span, and housing often necessitate using small animals such as rodents. The technical challenges to this approach center on finding ways to record high quality neural signals for extended periods, while allowing small animals to move unencumbered by restraints or recording cables and unburdened by the weight and size of the battery-powered wireless recording instrumentation. The current proposal describes research which aim is to develop and test a new technology to overcome these challenges. In particular, we propose to develop a new inductively-powered wireless electrophysiological data acquisition system, called the EnerCage, which not only acquires and transmits neural signals wirelessly but also receives power wirelessly. Therefore it permits multichannel recordings for many hours in large and completely enclosed experimental arenas, similar to rodents'natural habitat. Most wireless data acquisition solutions use batteries to power the electronics carried by the animal, which necessitates a compromise between the duration of the experiments and the weight that the animal can carry. As a result, most researchers forgo the numerous benefits of wireless data acquisition systems and use systems that tether behaving animals to electrophysiology instrumentation through cables. The use of these cables results in substantial limitations on weight, the range over which an animal can traverse, susceptibility to noise, motion artifacts, and the need for expensive commutators to eliminate tangling and twisting. The EnerCage system, on the other hand, will offer key advantages including 1) a substantial reduction in the weight and size of the headstage that should be supported by the animal, 2) an unlimited operating time of the inductively powered transmitter, 3) an extendable area over which the animal can traverse, and 4) accurate monitoring of the 3-D position and orientation of a magnetic tracer affixed to the animal's headstage, which does not require the animal to be in the line of sight.

Public Health Relevance

We propose to develop a new inductively-powered wireless electrophysiological data acquisition system, which not only acquires and transmits neural signals wirelessly but also receives power wirelessly. Therefore it permits multichannel recordings for many hours by eliminating the need for carrying batteries on the animal body in large and completely enclosed experimental arenas, similar to rodents'natural habitat.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
1R21EB009437-01A1
Application #
7786827
Study Section
Neurotechnology Study Section (NT)
Program Officer
Peng, Grace
Project Start
2009-09-30
Project End
2011-08-31
Budget Start
2009-09-30
Budget End
2010-08-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$181,112
Indirect Cost
Name
Georgia Institute of Technology
Department
Engineering (All Types)
Type
Schools of Engineering
DUNS #
097394084
City
Atlanta
State
GA
Country
United States
Zip Code
30332
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Lee, Byunghun; Ahn, Dukju; Ghovanloo, Maysam (2016) Three-Phase Time-Multiplexed Planar Power Transmission to Distributed Implants. IEEE J Emerg Sel Top Power Electron 4:263-272
Ahn, Dukju; Ghovanloo, Maysam (2016) Optimal Design of Wireless Power Transmission Links for Millimeter-Sized Biomedical Implants. IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst 10:125-37
Lee, Byunghun; Yeon, Pyungwoo; Ghovanloo, Maysam (2016) A Multi-Cycle Q-Modulation for Dynamic Optimization of Inductive Links. IEEE Trans Ind Electron 63:5091-5100
Lee, Seung Bae; Lee, Byunghun; Kiani, Mehdi et al. (2016) An Inductively-Powered Wireless Neural Recording System with a Charge Sampling Analog Front-End. IEEE Sens J 16:475-484
Kiani, Mehdi; Lee, Byunghun; Yeon, Pyungwoo et al. (2015) A Q-Modulation Technique for Efficient Inductive Power Transmission. IEEE J Solid-State Circuits 50:2839-2848
Lee, Byunghun; Kiani, Mehdi; Ghovanloo, Maysam (2015) A Smart Wirelessly Powered Homecage for Long-Term High-Throughput Behavioral Experiments. IEEE Sens J 15:4905-4916

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