Description du projet
Neurostimulation et imagerie cérébrale réunis dans un seul dispositif
L’électro-encéphalographie (EEG) est une méthode non invasive qui mesure l’activité électrique du cerveau. Elle est couramment utilisée dans le milieu clinique et la recherche pour étudier diverses affections neurologiques, dont l’épilepsie, ainsi que pour évaluer les fonctions cérébrales lors de tâches cognitives. L’EEG est toutefois limitée au tissu neural proche du crâne. Financé par le Conseil européen de l’innovation, le projet AEGEUS entend mettre au point un nouveau dispositif capable de fournir des images des régions cérébrales les plus profondes. Ce dispositif portable regroupera l’imagerie par ultrasons, la stimulation cérébrale et les mesures électrophysiologiques pour diagnostiquer et traiter les affections neurologiques. En outre, le consortium vise à introduire une composante de neuromodulation pour stimuler des zones spécifiques du cerveau sur la base d’une activité anormale.
Objectif
The overall goal of this project is to develop a radically new diagnostic and therapeutic device for neurological applications which combines a highly innovative ultrasound component for brain imaging and focused stimulation of brain regions with advanced electrophysiological measurements of neural activity.
First goal of the project is the development of a novel ultrasound (US)-based functional imaging method that, in conjunction with electroencephalography (EEG), allows for high spatiotemporal resolution examination of brain activity. While EEG itself yields best data from neural tissue close to the skull, the US component is designed to deliver images from deeper brain regions.
The second pillar of the device’s function is focused US brain stimulation. Based on the possibility to localize abnormal activity, the neuromodulation component of the novel device can be guided to focal stimulation of selected brain regions, which can be further developed into a closed-loop design. The full envisioned system is a versatile tool that combines EEG-sensors and US transceivers in a wearable headset. The project foresees the development of hard- and software as well as algorithms to integrate the information from both modalities into functional neuroimaging with unpreceded spatiotemporal resolution.
Beyond the technical realization, this project includes a proof of concept study to evaluate and demonstrate practical applicability in healthy participants and in patients with epilepsy, during clinical routine examination, cognitive, and sensory stimulation, including test-retest validation. The new device will reduce the time to examine and treat neurological patients and the cost thereof. The ability to perform better diagnosis via accurate imaging, targeted neurostimulation, and neuromodulation with a cost-effective, non-invasive device will have transformative effects on treatment options for neurological diseases and stimulate new lines of research in cognitive neuroscience
Champ scientifique
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme
Régime de financement
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC GrantsCoordinateur
80686 Munchen
Allemagne