NSF/FDA Scholar-in-Residence at FDA: Neuromechanical outcomes from next generation peripheral nerve implants

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

1042522 Shah This research will enable the development of comprehensive criteria to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a new generation of neural implants. In the development of such criteria, they will develop fundamental insight into the relationship between nerve biomechanics, morphology, and electrophysiological function. Several aspects of our project are transformative. They have developed a rigorous quantitative approach to directly examine in vivo nerve structure-function relationships. This will bridge numerous gaps in the literature regarding influences of nerve architecture on function. They will also use kinematic analysis to calibrate our measurements of nerve deformation to a baseline physiological frame of reference, allowing one to scale and compare relative nerve deformation across species or in different experimental configurations. This approach represents a logical and necessary shift from arbitrary or non-normalized nerve strains and strain rates reported in previous studies of peripheral nerve plasticity. Several elements of the experimental design are innovative, including the integration of nerve electrode implantation with in vivo biomechanical and electrophysiological measurement, and the use of cellular elements such as Bands of Fontana to assess regional nerve deformation.