Wireless telemetry of bioelectric signals, specifically neural recordings, is desirable in many research and clinical applications. These include, but are not limited to: telemetry and recording of neural activity in laboratory animals, telemetry of EEG, telemetry of short-term implanted electrode arrays for epilepsy medical diagnosis, functional electrical stimulation (FES) systems, and implantable neuroprosthetic devices for sensory and command control. Some of these require complete implantation, others allow for external mounting. There presently exists no commercially available low-noise, high-bandwidth, telemetry system, which could accommodate large numbers of recording channels (64-128). Nor do there exist electronic components that could be assembled into a suitable system by individual investigators. There is a compelling need for development of technology that can be implemented for either implantable or external use. In both cases, low-power consumption, miniature-size, and low-weight are essential. Existing industrial solutions to data telemetry and wireless communications do not address the needs of bio-recording and telemetry due to either excessive power requirements, or insufficient bandwidth, or incompatibility with low-noise amplifier integration. It is our long-term goal to develop technology for use in a commercial system applicable to a wide variety of telemetry needs. In this Phase I proposal we intend to demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating a single-chip neural recording telemetry device that will serve as the central module for more sophisticated research and clinical systems.
The telemetry chip has uses in laboratory-based neural recording studies typically done by neuroscience r4esearchers-25,000 attended the 2001 SNF meeting, clinical devices for telemetry of epilepsy, and RFID transponders for which a $500M world-wide market exists. Two companies have already committed their interest in using the proposed research in products.
