Project description
A promising new approach to epilepsy treatment
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that results in recurrent seizures caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. A new treatment option involves the implantation of a small electrical device in the body to help regulate seizures. Funded by the European Innovation Council, the BFORE project will further develop a method called EASEE® (epicranial application of stimulation electrodes in epilepsy). This minimally invasive device uses stimulation electrodes to target specific areas of the brain that are responsible for seizures. The device is based on the Laplace electrode and features four electrodes replacing the outer ring. These are connected to four independent current sources to account for impedance and anatomical variances in the skull. EASEE® can provide high-frequency, DC-like and low-frequency stimulation.
Objective
EASEE stands for epicranial application of stimulation electrodes in epilepsy. It is the first minimally invasive device for focal cortical stimulation. Based on the Laplace electrode (central electrode surrounded by a ring electrode), EASEE features 4 distinct electrodes replacing the outer ring, connected to 4 independent current sources to account for impedance and anatomical variances in the human skull. Still, the characteristic quadrupolar local electric field with high penetration depth is maintained.
The stimulation pattern is one of a kind. EASEE is equipped for high frequency, DC-like, and low-frequency stimulation, depending on the condition to be treated. In epilepsy, intermittent high-frequency stimulation bursts throughout the day are combined with a 20min DC-like stimulation session. This first is meant to terminate upcoming seizures, the second to initiate neuromodulatory processes to down-regulate the overexcitability of the epileptic brain area.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
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Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-EIC-ACC-BF - HORIZON EIC Accelerator Blended FinanceCoordinator
69117 Heidelberg
Germany
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.