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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Ph.D. Proposal Oral Exam - Pyungwoo Yeon
Distributed Free-Floating Wireless Implantable Neural Recording System (FF-WINeR)
Title: Distributed Free-Floating Wireless Implantable Neural Recording System (FF-WINeR)
Committee:
Dr. Brand, Advisor
Dr. Bakir, Chair
Dr. Wang
Abstract:
The objective of the proposed research is to design a wireless framework that can simultaneously record large scale neuronal ensembles over the entire brain area. The new wireless framework will be based on an array of free-floating distributed implants powered through a 3-coil inductive link. There is increasing realization that neural function in the brain arises from a large distributed network of neurons and that both neural recording and neuromodulation of the future will, therefore, require the ability to simultaneously interface with multiple neural sites distributed over a large area of the brain. Despite their high density, the current neural interfaces clearly fall short of achieving this goal because of their limited area coverage. Another problem with current neural data acquisition paradigm is the severe tissue damage due to the large, rigid, and high density electrode arrays that displace, compress, and scar damage their surrounding neural tissue, disturb perfusion of nutrients, and the delicate blood-brain-barrier (BBB). The proposed approach is different from the traditional paradigm in that a vast number of tiny implants (only 1 mm in diameter and 0.1 mm in thickness) in the form of pushpins will be distributed over the target brain surface, each recording single unit activities (SUA) from up to four thin microwire electrodes, while being directly powered and interrogated from a wireless and wearable head-cap. We intent to build fully functional prototypes of this distributed Free-Floating Wireless Implantable Neural Recording (FF-WINeR) system, and evaluate it in vitro and in vivo.
