The emergence of a new era in neuromodulation is led by the intriguing potential of functional materials to replace or control neural activity. The ability to simultaneously analyse neural activity offers the potential to translate signals into a feedback loop for intuitive therapy or even to replace lost neurological functions. However, neuromodulation and recording in the deep brain commonly relies on chronic implantation of macroscale hardware with numerous safety concerns and often suffers from poor spatiotemporal resolution. BRAINMASTER will demonstrate scalable, wireless, minimally invasive neuromodulation relying on forces transformed to mechanosensory neurons by magnetic nanodiscs (MNDs) coupled to external magnetic fields (MFs). Neuromodulation will run concurrently with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of Ca2+ transients. BRAINMASTER’s ambitious objectives will permit celltype specific interrogation (write) and simultaneous imaging (read) of deep brain in untethered subjects without implanted hardware, overcoming major challenges present in existing approaches. MNDs will be engineered to selectively target neural mechanosensitive ion channels by release of viral vectors for exogenous channel expression or by recognition motifs for endogenous stimulation. MND surface with Ca2+ binding moieties will allow dynamic MRI imaging via formation of ferromagnetic clusters translated as MRI contrast variations. The bidirectional BRAINMASTER interface will include MRI Ca2+ imaging simultaneous with stimulus from large gradient
forces ‘pulling’ MNDs on mechanosensory cells and torques mediated by low frequency MFs from miniaturized, MRI compatible coils. Ultimately, I will develop the first-of-its-kind intuitive interface between the deep brain and an engineered system to facilitate cognitive training and therapies for developmental, neurodegenerative and mental disorders and demonstrate the technological breakthrough in the rodent model of early Alzheimer’s disease.
