Field Of Neuroengineering Research Articles

The Scientific Frontiers of Neuroengineering, the Treatment of Schizophrenia and the Visionary Future

Science, civilization and mankind are today in the path of newer scientific divination as regards application of neuroscience and neuro-engineering in diverse areas of science and technology. Neuroengineering is the agglomeration of neuroscience, experimental neuroscience, computational neuroscience, neurology, electrical engineering and nanotechnology. The scientific frontier of neuro-engineering needs to be envisioned and revamped with the passage of scientific history and time. Scientific provenance, scientific divination and scientific revelation are the key highlights of neuroengineering, neuroscience and electrical engineering science today. Today the science of psychiatry and psychology are merged with neuroengineering and neuroscience. The author is a schizophrenic patient since November,2023. From October 2012, he is diagnosed with glaucoma in his both eyes. In this article, the author deeply and profoundly highlights the lucid and insightful world of neuroengineering and the science of psychiatry. This article is targeted towards a newer world in the field of neuroengineering with a deep interface with the trials and tribulations in his life as regards treatment of schizophrenia.

Fork-shaped neural interface with multichannel high spatial selectivity in the peripheral nerve of a rat

Objective. This study aims to develop and validate a sophisticated fork-shaped neural interface (FNI) designed for peripheral nerves, focusing on achieving high spatial resolution, functional selectivity, and improved charge storage capacities. The objective is to create a neurointerface capable of precise neuroanatomical analysis, neural signal recording, and stimulation. Approach. Our approach involves the design and implementation of the FNI, which integrates 32 multichannel working electrodes featuring enhanced charge storage capacities and low impedance. An insertion guide holder is incorporated to refine neuronal selectivity. The study employs meticulous electrode placement, bipolar electrical stimulation, and comprehensive analysis of induced neural responses to verify the FNI’s capabilities. Stability over an eight-week period is a crucial aspect, ensuring the reliability and durability of the neural interface. Main results. The FNI demonstrated remarkable efficacy in neuroanatomical analysis, exhibiting accurate positioning of motor nerves and successfully inducing various movements. Stable impedance values were maintained over the eight-week period, affirming the durability of the FNI. Additionally, the neural interface proved effective in recording sensory signals from different hind limb areas. The advanced charge storage capacities and low impedance contribute to the FNI’s robust performance, establishing its potential for prolonged use. Significance. This research represents a significant advancement in neural interface technology, offering a versatile tool with broad applications in neuroscience and neuroengineering. The FNI’s ability to capture both motor and sensory neural activity positions it as a comprehensive solution for neuroanatomical studies. Moreover, the precise neuromodulation potential of the FNI holds promise for applications in advanced bionic prosthetic control and therapeutic interventions. The study’s findings contribute to the evolving field of neuroengineering, paving the way for enhanced understanding and manipulation of peripheral neural functions.

Nerve Guide Conduits Integrated with Fisetin-Loaded Chitosan Hydrogels for Reducing Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Nerve Regeneration.

Peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) represent a prevalent and severe category of damage resulting from traumatic incidents. Predominantly, the deficiency in nerve regeneration can be ascribed to enduring inflammatory reactions, hence imposing substantial clinical implications for patients. Fisetin, a flavonoid derived from plants, is naturally present in an array of vegetables and fruits, including strawberries, apples, onions, and cucumbers. It exhibits immunomodulatory properties through the reduction of inflammation and oxidative stress. In the present research, a nerve defect is addressed for the first time utilizing a scaffold primed for controlled fisetin release. In this regard, fisetin-loaded chitosan hydrogels are incorporated into the lumen of polycaprolactone (PCL) nerve guide conduits (NGCs). The hydrogel maintained a steady release of an appropriate fisetin dosage. The study outcomes indicated that the fisetin/chitosan/polycaprolactone (FIS/CS/PCL) NGCs amplified Schwann cell proliferation and neural expression, curtailed oxidative stress, alleviated inflammation, and improved functions, electrophysiological properties, and morphology. This pioneering scaffold has the potential to contribute significantly to the field of neuroengineering.

Surface Tension and Neuronal Sorting in Magnetically Engineered Brain-Like Tissue.

Engineered 3D brain-like models have advanced the understanding of neurological mechanisms and disease, yet their mechanical signature, while fundamental for brain function, remains understudied. The surface tension for instance controls brain development and is a marker of cell-cell interactions. Here, 3D magnetic brain-like tissue spheroids composed of intermixed primary glial and neuronal cells at different ratios are engineered. Remarkably, the two cell types self-assemble into a functional tissue, with the sorting of the neuronal cells toward the periphery of the spheroids, whereas the glial cells constitute the core. The magnetic fingerprint of the spheroids then allows their deformation when placed under a magnetic field gradient, at a force equivalent to a 70g increased gravity at the spheroid level. The tissue surface tension and elasticity can be directly inferred from the resulting deformation, revealing a transitional dependence on the glia/neuron ratio, with the surface tension of neuronal tissue being much lower. The results suggest an underlying mechanical contribution to the exclusion of the neurons toward the outer spheroid region, and depict the glia/neuron organization as a sophisticated mechanism that should in turn influence tissue development and homeostasis relevant in the neuroengineering field.

Nano Machine-based Hybrid 3D Network-on-Chip (NoC) using 18nm tsmc Technology

Network-on-Chip paradigm is an emerging technology that provides communication between the Intellectual Property cores in System-on-Chip (SoC). The drastic development of nanotechnology supports the making of Intellectual property cores with small area, less power dissipation, improvement in latency and achieves high speed. The neural systems that emulate biological sensory capability on reconfigurable hardware are the key requirement in the field of Neuro-Engineering. Nano-neural connectivity technique is highly needed in order to implement reconfigurable Neural Networks (NNs) on-chip. This paper proposes a novel Nano Machine based Hybrid 3D Network-on-Chip for the emulation of a third-generation (3G) Neural Network model called Spiking Neural Network (SNN). This Hybrid Network-on-Chip uses a Nanomachine Transceiver with Carbon nanotube antenna which uses the novel pulse-based technique to transfer the packets between the subnet of NoC to reduce the latency. The experimental result of this work shows the improvement in latency of Nano machine-based NoC compared to the previously reported work for 18 nm TSMC technology.

Embodiment in Neuro-engineering Endeavors: Phenomenological Considerations and Practical Implications

The field of Neuro-Engineering seems to be on the fast track towards accomplishing its ultimate goal of potentially replacing the nervous system in the face of disease. Meanwhile, the patients and professionals involved are continuously dealing with human bodily experience and especially how neuro-engineering devices could become part of a user’s body schema: the domain of ‘embodied phenomenology’. This focus on embodiment, however, is not sufficiently reflected in the current literature on ethical and philosophical issues in neuro-engineering. In this article we will focus on this lacuna by explaining existing data on neuro-engineering user’s experiences by using phenomenological concepts such as transparency and the concepts that may facilitate this: functionality, sensorimotor feedback and affective tolerance. By introducing and applying these concepts to four real life case examples, we will discuss practical implications and guidelines which can contribute to the actual success of incorporation of the device by the patient. First, we will discuss the importance of a ‘Patient Preference Diagnosis’ (PPD), which can serve as a way to prepare the patient for the existential reorientation involved in the process. In addition, a Patient Transparency Diagnosis (PTD) during and after such a process is also relevant when wanting to provide the medical field in general with feedback, and the patient in particular with possibilities to fine-tune the device. From these practical guidelines we will conclude that the phenomenological approach can be very valuable when applied to the field of neuro-engineering.

Magnetically Balanced Power and Data Telemetry for mm-scale Neural Implants.

Millimeter-sized implants for neural interface have been of great interest in the neuroengineering field due to their minimal invasiveness and great potential as an alternative to conventional bulky neural interfacing systems. However, their size poses great challenges not only on wireless power transmission, but also on uplink (implant to outside) data communication. One of most feasible data communication methods is load-shift keying based on the backscattering principle utilizing the existing inductive power link. This method consumes minimal power inherently, but its achievable modulation index is infinitesimal so that it is greatly challenging to detect the transmitted data on the outside. In this paper, we explore new schemes using a separate data reception coil that is magnetically balanced with the power coil. Due to its minimal crosstalk between the power transmission coil and data coil, a much higher data modulation index can be achieved. In addition to circular coils, we also present elliptical magnetic-balanced coil structures. According to finite element model stimulations with a realistic brain tissue model in Ansys HFSS and time domain simulation in Cadence, up to $ 15\times $ improvement in data modulation index can be achieved compared to conventional methods.

Neuroengineering and neuroprosthetics.

This article contains a directed overview of the field of neuroengineering and neuroprosthetics. The aim of the article is, however, not to go over introductory material covered elsewhere, but rather to look ahead at exciting areas for likely future development. The BrainGate implant is focussed on in terms of its use as an interface between the Internet and the human nervous system. Sensory prosthetics of different types and deep brain stimulation are considered. Different possibilities with deep brain stimulation are also discussed.

Kernel temporal enhancement approach for LORETA source reconstruction using EEG data.

Reconstruction of brain sources from magnetoencephalography and electroencephalography (M/EEG) data is a well known problem in the neuroengineering field. A inverse problem should be solved and several methods have been proposed. Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) and the different variations proposed as standardized LORETA (sLORETA) and the standardized weighted LORETA (swLORETA) have solved the inverse problem following a non-parametric approach, that is by setting dipoles in the whole brain domain in order to estimate the dipole positions from the M/EEG data and assuming some spatial priors. Errors in the reconstruction of sources are presented due the low spatial resolution of the LORETA framework and the influence of noise in the observable data. In this work a kernel temporal enhancement (kTE) is proposed in order to build a preprocessing stage of the data that allows in combination with the swLORETA method a improvement in the source reconstruction. The results are quantified in terms of three dipole error localization metrics and the strategy of swLORETA + kTE obtained the best results across different signal to noise ratio (SNR) in random dipoles simulation from synthetic EEG data.

Information-Theoretic Measures on Intrinsic Mode Function for the Individual Identification Using EEG Sensors

In spite of recent advances, the interest in extracting knowledge hidden in the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals is rapidly growing, as well as their application in the computational neuroengineering field, such as mobile robot control, wheelchair control, and person identification using brainwaves. The large number of methods for the EEG feature extraction demands a good feature for every task. Digging up the most unique feature would be worthy for the identification of individual using EEG signal. This research presents a novel approach for feature extraction of EEG signal using the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and information-theoretic method. The EMD technique is applied to decompose an EEG signal into a set of intrinsic mode function. These decomposed signals are of the same length and in the same time domain as the original signal. Hence, the EMD method preserves varying frequencies in time. To measure the performance of the features, we have used hybrid learning for classification where we have selected learning vector quantization neural network with fuzzy algorithm. In order to test the performance of proposed classifier based on fuzzy theory, we have tested classification accuracy of each cognitive task over all participated subjects. The results are compared with the past methods in the literature for feature extraction and classification methods. Results confirm that the proposed features present a satisfactory performance.

Noninvasive Brain-Computer Interfaces Based on Sensorimotor Rhythms.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have been explored in the field of neuroengineering to investigate how the brain can use these systems to control external devices. We review the principles and approaches we have taken to develop a sensorimotor rhythm EEG based brain-computer interface (BCI). The methods include developing BCI systems incorporating the control of physical devices to increase user engagement, improving BCI systems by inversely mapping scalp-recorded EEG signals to the cortical source domain, integrating BCI with noninvasive neuromodulation strategies to improve learning, and incorporating mind-body awareness training to enhance BCI learning and performance. The challenges and merits of these strategies are discussed, together with recent findings. Our work indicates that the sensorimotor-rhythm-based noninvasive BCI has the potential to provide communication and control capabilities as an alternative to physiological motor pathways.

Valedictory editorial from the Chairman of the IFMBE Journal Committee on the occasion of a change of Editors

The management structure of Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing differs slightly from many other similar journals in that it is the official journal of the IFMBE and is a valuable source of income for it. Rather than the usual structure of the editor and their staff, an editorial board and publisher, the IFMBE has created a Federation Journal Committee which oversees management aspects of the journal although not direct editorial matters. These latter are the province of the editor and their editorial board and advisers. This steers a course between the IFMBE and the natural requirement to generate income and the ambition to raise the profile and circulation of the journal. After sitting as member of the FJC, I became Chairman in 2009 and so had the privilege of advising the current editor on management issues with respect to the journal and also lead the search committee for the new editor. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with Jos Spaan over these 7 years while he has been editor. The journal is widely respected in the Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering fields for its high standards. Jos has made a major contribution to advancing this good reputation. He has willingly and enthusiastically given huge amounts of his time to the editorial process. The lifeblood of the journal is the response time to submitted articles but also the quality of the editorial judgment, both in respect to direct appraisal of submissions and in appointing high quality editorial assistants. Jos has been outstanding in all these respects and I know from personal experience that he has given up many evenings and weekends personally to ensure that the editorial process has been rapid and of the highest standards. The quality and scope of submissions in the journal reflect these qualities. We have been very fortunate to have had such a diligent and discriminating editor over this period and this is reflected in the improved impact factor and continuing high standing of the journal. I would also like to thank the team of hard-working and diligent associated editors he recruited who have so willingly given up a great deal of their time to maintaining the high standards of the journal. In particular, I would like to thank Ruben Coronel who has been Deputy Editor and in addition has taken responsibility for new submissions since September 1st of this year in order to free time for the Editor in Chief to prepare for the transition to the new editor. This will be a hard act to follow. The search for a new editor was protracted as the search committee, with valuable contributions from the immediate and current IFMBE presidents, set out to recruit a new editor with a high existing scientific standing who would be able to continue this tradition of excellence and also increase the high standing of the journal through their reputation and international contacts. Jos’s own special interest was in cardiovascular engineering; we have been very fortunate to appoint a new editor with a strong international reputation in the allied field of Neuroengineering, Nitish Thakor. He has a literal international standing in that he has academic appointments in both the USA and Singapore, as well as a wealth of editorial experience and international contacts. He is an ideal person to further the reputation and standing of the journal and I welcome him to the new position. He has already started the handover and will formally become the new editor from January 2013. The prospects for the journal are therefore excellent. Of course, there are challenges in the scientific publishing world. These include the increase in submissions, especially from countries who are increasing their scientific D. Holder (&) Department of Medical Physics, University College London, London, UK e-mail: d.holder@nhs.net

Guest Editorial to the Special Letters Issue on Neuroengineering and Neuroprosthetics: Increasing Basic Understanding of the Nervous System to Develop More Effective Neuroengineering Applications

The Guest Editors present a Special Issue on Neuroengineering and Neuroprosthetics of IEEE TBME Letters. Following the spirit of TBME Letters, the Special Issue was intended to provide information about novel breakthrough research in the emerging field of neuroengineering. The issue has a limited number of nanotechnology applications, but the editors are pleased to present the 13 papers in this special issue covering different noninvasive and invasive applications and important technological developments. We hope that the contents of the Special Issue will stimulate interest as well as further development in related areas in neuroscience, biomaterials, modeling, and medical devices.

Neural Signal Manager: a collection of classical and innovative tools for multi‐channel spike train analysis

AbstractRecent developments in the neuroengineering field and the widespread use of the micro electrode arrays (MEAs) for electrophysiological investigations made available new approaches for studying the dynamics of dissociated neuronal networks as well as acute/organotypic slices maintained ex vivo. Importantly, the extraction of relevant parameters from these neural populations is likely to involve long‐term measurements, lasting from a few hours to entire days. The processing of huge amounts of electrophysiological data, in terms of computational time and automation of the procedures, is actually one of the major bottlenecks for both in vivo and in vitro recordings. In this paper we present a collection of algorithms implemented within a new software package, named the Neural Signal Manager (NSM), aimed at analyzing a huge quantity of data recorded by means of MEAs in a fast and efficient way. The NSM offers different approaches for both spike and burst analysis, and integrates state‐of‐the‐art statistical algorithms, such as the inter‐spike interval histogram or the post stimulus time histogram, with some recent ones, such as the burst detection and its related statistics. In order to show the potentialities of the software, the application of the developed algorithms to a set of spontaneous activity recordings from dissociated cultures at different ages is presented in the Results section. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Neuromodulación quirúrgica: Nuevos horizontes en Neurocirugía

Surgical neuromodulation refers to all those techniques that use implantable devices that discharge electricity or chemical substances that modify nerve signal transmission in order to achieve inhibition, excitation or modulation of the activity of neuronal groups and networks, and to achieve a therapeutic effect. Neuromodulation encompasses different scientific aspects and technologies which need to be defined. From the surgical point of view, neuromodulation is defined as: those intervention techniques that alter the transmission of neuronal signals using implantable electrical or chemical devices with the objective of stimulating, inhibiting or modulating the activity of neurones or neuronal networks to achieve therapeutic effects. A clinical definition makes reference to the use of reversible electrical or chemical stimulation of the nervous system to manipulate its activity in order to treat some specific types of chronic pain and conditions such as spasticity, epilepsy, cardiac ischemia, alterations in the motility of the intestine and of the bladder, lesions of the nervous system, and alterations in mobility, visual, auditory or psychiatric status. Neurosurgeons have been well trained to perform a great number of surgical techniques of neuromodulation, even including helping to significantly increase biomedical activities and the application of high technology to the central and peripheral nervous system. Surgical neuromodulation encourages the neurosurgeon to go also away from the classical techniques of surgical resection and neuroablative procedures, and to enter into the new field of neuroengineering to re-establish lost neurological functions. The inter-relationship between the brain and the computer (brain-machine interface) has already occurred and has been applied in the field of neuroprosthetics and deep brain stimulation. For neurosurgery in general and for Spain in particular, this represents a new opportunity to embark on a high technology path that would involve years of research but, applying these new, non-invasive surgical techniques would help resolve the neurological problems of many of our patients.

In the spotlight: Neuroengineering

This article reviews current researches in the field of neuroengineering. Special focus is given to neural prosthesis, neuroprosthetic control and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) for anthropomorphic and sensory prosthetic control.

Spike manager: a new tool for spontaneous and evoked neuronal networks activity characterization

Recent developments in the neuroengineering field and the widespread use of micro-electrode arrays for electrophysiological investigations led to new approaches in the study of large neuronal networks dynamics, in both in vivo and in vitro conditions. In spite of these new possibilities there is still lack of commercially available software tools that can help in the management and analysis of large amount of data coming from several experimental sessions. A new software tool, built in Matlab © environment, was developed with the aim to offer a valuable help to the neuroscientific community for processing multi-channel electrophysiological signals. In this paper we present the developed software tool and some examples of real applications on spontaneous as well as evoked (i.e., electrically stimulated) electrophysiological neuronal network activity from cortical cultures.

Spike manager: a new tool for spontaneous and evoked neuronal networks activity characterization

Recent developments in the neuroengineering field and the widespread use of micro-electrode arrays for electrophysiological investigations led to new approaches in the study of large neuronal networks dynamics, in both in vivo and in vitro conditions. In spite of these new possibilities there is still lack of commercially available software tools that can help in the management and analysis of large amount of data coming from several experimental sessions. A new software tool, built in Matlab © environment, was developed with the aim to offer a valuable help to the neuroscientific community for processing multi-channel electrophysiological signals. In this paper we present the developed software tool and some examples of real applications on spontaneous as well as evoked (i.e., electrically stimulated) electrophysiological neuronal network activity from cortical cultures.