BME Doctoral Defense: Alex Burton

Abstract: Seamless organ interfaces combined with high fidelity readout and modulation capabilities offer unparalleled insights into the central and peripheral nervous system and musculo-skeletal system. Wireless, battery-free platforms enable capabilities for long-term experiments with continuous uninterrupted recording and stimulation, with capabilities that match or exceed those of current wired or battery-powered platforms. Combined with soft and flexible mechanics, these devices are fully implantable in small animal models enabling studies without impact on behavior and mobility, offer fast recovery times post-surgery, minimize infection, and operate with lifetimes that exceed those of the test subjects. Development of this new class of wireless devices bridges the gap between preclinical and clinical research enabling the development of new therapeutic and diagnostic tools.

Specifically, we have expanded these platforms towards highly miniaturized form factor to facilitate subdermal implantation on the scalp in freely moving young mice to enable long-term experiments to study complex behavioral circuits by recording cell-specific neural dynamics. We have also demonstrated modulation of neural pathways, in the deep brain to study stimulus parameters for therapeutic treatment of motor disorders.

Further we evolved these platforms to enable implantation in highly mobile areas such as the dorsum without affecting animal mobility with capabilities for high-speed voltage-controlled spinal stimulation to study electronic analgesia for pain reduction. Through advances in antenna deigns we enable high voltage compliance for current controlled stimulation of the spinal cord and muscle simultaneously to study long-term functional electrical stimulation for therapeutic treatment of spinal cord injuries.

We could further extend the technological platform to the musculoskeletal system by addition of calcium particles with growth factors to grow electronics to the bone to capture key metrics of bone health in real time, paving the way for personalized treatment of the musculoskeletal system.