Grant: Project Grant

There is a significant need for assistive technologies that can restore movement to individuals paralyzed after spinal cord injury. Implanted functional electrical stimulation (FES) systems use electrical pulses to contract muscles in patterns that produce useful movements, and could restore function to individuals for whom no other options exist. Using this technology to restore fluid and effective motor function calls for new methods to both measure and alter nerve activity in a targeted manner. Our objective is to create an implantable system that can both record from and stimulate specific structures in the nervous system to restore movement after paralysis. The project builds on recent innovations by our team using artificial intelligence, new stimulation technologies, and custom microelectronics. We will demonstrate methods that can target both recording and stimulation in a more precise manner than previously possible using devices that are suitable for long-term use in humans. We will then develop microelectronics that combine these recording and stimulation approaches into an implantable package, and demonstrate their functionality over several months. The work proposed will provide unique functionality in a fully integrated microelectronic package. In this manner, it will allow for convenient and less invasive implantation, greatly increasing the potential for successful application in humans. These benefits will translate to an unprecedented ability to restore movements to individuals affected by paralysis. The findings will provide fundamental tools that can also be used more broadly to address a range of other injuries and diseases.