Descrizione del progetto
Neurostimolazione e imaging cerebrale in un unico dispositivo
L’elettroencefalografia (EEG) è un metodo non invasivo che misura l’attività elettrica del cervello. Viene comunemente utilizzato in ambito clinico e di ricerca per studiare varie condizioni neurologiche, tra cui l’epilessia, e per valutare la funzionalità cerebrale durante le attività cognitive. Tuttavia, l’EEG è limitata al tessuto neurale vicino al cranio. Finanziato dal Consiglio europeo per l’innovazione, il progetto AEGEUS mira a sviluppare un nuovo dispositivo in grado di fornire immagini dalle regioni cerebrali più profonde. Il dispositivo indossabile combinerà immagini a ultrasuoni, stimolazione cerebrale e misurazioni elettrofisiologiche per diagnosticare e curare varie condizioni neurologiche. Inoltre, il consorzio mira a introdurre una componente di neuromodulazione per stimolare aree specifiche del cervello sulla base di attività anomale.
Obiettivo
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
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme
Invito a presentare proposte
HORIZON-EIC-2022-PATHFINDEROPEN-01
Vedi altri progetti per questo bandoMeccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC GrantsCoordinatore
80686 Munchen
Germania