The development and testing of a device to enhance the application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. This project aims to develop and evaluate a new device designed to substantially enhance the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation, a technology, which is increasingly being applied in the treatment of disorders such as depression, as well as in the study of normal and abnormal brain function.
A novel approach to diffusion MRI for greatly improved imaging of brain white matter and its connectivity. In this project, innovative new imaging and reconstruction techniques will be developed to provide images of brain connectivity, with unprecedented detail. Such images will allow extremely detailed investigations into the white matter connections that allow brain regions to communicate, and improve our understanding of how the brain operates.
Optimisation of signal processing and electrical stimulation algorithms for the abatement of epileptic seizures. Epilepsy is the second-most common neurological disorder behind stroke and ischemic attacks, affecting 1-2 per cent of the nation's population. Pharmaceutical therapies are ineffective in approximately one third of cases, the result being a large unmet need for novel treatments. The devices to be produced through this project will improve the quality of life of many patients in the fu ....Optimisation of signal processing and electrical stimulation algorithms for the abatement of epileptic seizures. Epilepsy is the second-most common neurological disorder behind stroke and ischemic attacks, affecting 1-2 per cent of the nation's population. Pharmaceutical therapies are ineffective in approximately one third of cases, the result being a large unmet need for novel treatments. The devices to be produced through this project will improve the quality of life of many patients in the future and alleviate their dependence on traditional medications. The devices will also reduce the patients' requirements for medical practitioners, hospital and ambulance services, and will therefore also reduce the financial burden that neurological and epilepsy patients place on the community.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100922
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Diamond cybernetics: nanocrystalline diamond for interfacing bionic devices with the human nervous system. Bionic devices will soon be used to treat disorders such as epilepsy, Parkinson's and depression. We will use diamond to create high resolution, permanent electrical connections between devices and the human nervous system. These diamond connections will preserve nerve health and make bionic devices more effective and able to last a lifetime.
Central Representation of Electroacoustic Stimuli. Cochlear implantation, initially only provided to profoundly deaf individuals, is now routine in people with substantial residual hearing. Although stimulation via a cochlear implant and hearing aid in the same ear has been shown to improve speech understanding, particularly in noise, and to increase the aesthetic quality of sound, almost nothing is known about the physiological mechanisms underlying these benefits. The broad aim of our project ....Central Representation of Electroacoustic Stimuli. Cochlear implantation, initially only provided to profoundly deaf individuals, is now routine in people with substantial residual hearing. Although stimulation via a cochlear implant and hearing aid in the same ear has been shown to improve speech understanding, particularly in noise, and to increase the aesthetic quality of sound, almost nothing is known about the physiological mechanisms underlying these benefits. The broad aim of our project is to address this deficiency by measuring the patterns of neural activity evoked by speech sounds across the tonotopic axis in the inferior colliculus and auditory cortex and assess the extent to which the pattern of neural activity allows discrimination between the different speech sounds.Read moreRead less
Development of an electrode for stimulation of a transplanted neosphincter. This project aims to develop a novel electrode as an integral component of a new treatment for severe stress urinary incontinence. Treatments for severe stress urinary incontinence are associated with complications and are not completely effective. The new electrode is designed to be activated by an implanted stimulator to control an innervated smooth muscle graft (the neosphincter) to regulate the flow of urine from the ....Development of an electrode for stimulation of a transplanted neosphincter. This project aims to develop a novel electrode as an integral component of a new treatment for severe stress urinary incontinence. Treatments for severe stress urinary incontinence are associated with complications and are not completely effective. The new electrode is designed to be activated by an implanted stimulator to control an innervated smooth muscle graft (the neosphincter) to regulate the flow of urine from the bladder. Project research into the design of the electrode will focus on providing safe, effective and efficient stimulation of the neosphincter, while ensuring minimal damage to the surrounding tissues and affording straightforward implantation at surgery.Read moreRead less
Development of an electrode assembly for the stimulation of a transplanted innervated smooth muscle sphincter. This project will design and assess a number of different electrode designs for use in a medical device being developed for the treatment of severe stress urinary incontinence. The project will identify an optimal electrode design, which will be used in future clinical trials of the device.
Neural Activity Shaping for Retinal and Cochlear Implants. This project aims to develop methods to control and optimise the spatial patterns of neural activity evoked by neural prostheses in order to improve the resolution of neuroprostheses. A major problem for neural prostheses is that the electrical current used to stimulate neurons causes a diffuse spread of activity in the neural tissue, which limits the resolution of the device. For patients this translates into limitations in sound qualit ....Neural Activity Shaping for Retinal and Cochlear Implants. This project aims to develop methods to control and optimise the spatial patterns of neural activity evoked by neural prostheses in order to improve the resolution of neuroprostheses. A major problem for neural prostheses is that the electrical current used to stimulate neurons causes a diffuse spread of activity in the neural tissue, which limits the resolution of the device. For patients this translates into limitations in sound quality, in the case of cochlea implants, or visual acuity, for retinal implants. The outcome of the project will be algorithms that optimally choose the currents on each electrode so as to shape neural activity at the finer resolution of electrode spacing rather than the coarser resolution of current spread.Read moreRead less
Ultra-low fouling active surfaces. This project aims to develop chemistries and fabrication approaches through innovative materials evaluation to develop ultra-low fouling active electrode surfaces. Development of ultra-low fouling surfaces will have significant impact in a range of applications where system or device failure is attributed to fouling. The growing field of bionics, where implantable electronic devices interface directly with the nervous system, is one such device. The expected ou ....Ultra-low fouling active surfaces. This project aims to develop chemistries and fabrication approaches through innovative materials evaluation to develop ultra-low fouling active electrode surfaces. Development of ultra-low fouling surfaces will have significant impact in a range of applications where system or device failure is attributed to fouling. The growing field of bionics, where implantable electronic devices interface directly with the nervous system, is one such device. The expected outcomes will be an understanding of the material requirements that lead to the elimination of protein and cell accumulation at surfaces that degrades the performance and lifetime of these implants. The findings will benefit any application where fouling is a problem.Read moreRead less
Modelling of neural plasticity for enhanced performance of brain-machine interfaces. Plasticity of the brain is one of the great scientific challenges of neuroscience. The aim of this project is to model the synaptic changes that occur with reward-modulated spike-timing-dependent plasticity and apply the model to developing plasticity targeted brain-machine interfaces. The significance of this approach is that such plasticity targeted techniques provide the prospect of taking advantage of the un ....Modelling of neural plasticity for enhanced performance of brain-machine interfaces. Plasticity of the brain is one of the great scientific challenges of neuroscience. The aim of this project is to model the synaptic changes that occur with reward-modulated spike-timing-dependent plasticity and apply the model to developing plasticity targeted brain-machine interfaces. The significance of this approach is that such plasticity targeted techniques provide the prospect of taking advantage of the underlying neural plasticity to optimise the form of the neural recording and electrical stimulation. The outcomes will be to greatly improve the performance of brain-machine interface in terms of measures such as the number and sensitivity of channels, as well as robustness and reliability.Read moreRead less