Background on Neuroprosthetics
Neuroprosthetics are medical devices that directly interact with the nervous system with the intention of enhancing or replacing physical functions of the nervous system. These devices are designed to form networks with the brain, peripheral nerves, spinal cord, etc. Currently, there are two “designs” for neuroprosthetics: bodily invasive and non-invasive. Bodily invasive neuroprosthetics are directly implanted inside the body whereas bodily non-invasive neuroprosthetics are worn externally–often on the skin.
Key Neuroprosthetics:
There are a few key types of neuroprosthetics, all used for different purposes. Cochlear implants provide a better sense of sound/hearing specifically to individuals with notably severe hearing loss. Unlike hearing aids, cochlear implants bypass the direct inner ear or the cochlea. These implants target the auditory nerve, allowing the brain to stimulate sound. Retinal implants target individuals with vision loss, stimulating inner sections of the eye–such as the retina. Similar to cochlear implants, retinal implants are not meant for every individual with vision loss or blindness but rather patients with specific retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa or macular degeneration by age. Additionally, spinal cord stimulators are neuroprosthetics that send electrical signals to the spinal cord to block pain signals (from chronic conditions) that may be heading to the brain. Lastly, motor prosthetics are implanted in the brain for individuals with paralysis control conditions that require prosthetic limbs that function through brain signals.
Functions of Neuroprosthetics
Neuroprosthetics typically require a unique combination of sensors, algorithms, and techniques in order to mimic and enhance the biological neural body part targeted. The sensors in neuroprosthetics are primarily used to detect signals from the body or the environment. These signals are then converted to a form the neuroprosthetic device can pick up. Algorithms are used to interpret the signals, converting the “raw data” to something functionable. They do this by first filtering the “raw data”, and then amplifying and decoding it, in order to prepare the data for stimulation techniques and integration. The device’s stimulation techniques are made to directly interact with the nervous system in order to send out the intended signals. Finally, many neuroprosthetic devices have built-in feedback loops, which allow patients to receive sensory information for a more natural interaction.
References
Pancrazio, J. J., & Peckham, P. H. (2009). Neuroprosthetic devices: how far are we from recovering movement in paralyzed patients?. Expert review of neurotherapeutics, 9(4), 427–430. https://doi.org/10.1586/ern.09.12
Health Quality Ontario (2018). Bilateral Cochlear Implantation: A Health Technology Assessment. Ontario health technology assessment series, 18(6), 1–139.
Wu, K. Y., Mina, M., Sahyoun, J. Y., Kalevar, A., & Tran, S. D. (2023). Retinal Prostheses: Engineering and Clinical Perspectives for Vision Restoration. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 23(13), 5782. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23135782
Moritz C. T. (2018). Now is the Critical Time for Engineered Neuroplasticity. Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics, 15(3), 628–634. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-018-0637-0
Ferlauto, L., D'Angelo, A. N., Vagni, P., Airaghi Leccardi, M. J. I., Mor, F. M., Cuttaz, E. A., Heuschkel, M. O., Stoppini, L., & Ghezzi, D. (2018). Development and Characterization of PEDOT:PSS/Alginate Soft Microelectrodes for Application in Neuroprosthetics. Frontiers in neuroscience, 12, 648. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00648
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