I-Corps: minimally invasive deep brain stimulation using temporally interfering electromagnetic waves

William Marsh Rice University, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is that it aims to restore the autonomy of patients with Parkinson's disease by improving their physical well-being, easing the costs associated with caregiving, and preventing the loss of employment. The current approach to treating medication-resistant Parkinson's disease, called Deep Brain Stimulation, requires electrode implantation inside the brain tissue that creates potential for surgical complications like intracranial hemorrhage or stroke. The proposed project provides a minimally-invasive way to stimulate the brain continuously. The stimulation device is best suited for treating patients with Parkinson's disease due to its continuously operable and portable nature. The technology may also effectively treat disorders like essential tremor, epilepsy, and depression, which are traditional candidates for deep brain stimulation surgery. This methodology can open a new chapter in neuromodulation technologies by offering benefits not shared by prior methodologies of electrical stimulation. This could have a huge social impact as, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation, there are 10 million Parkinson's disease patients globally. Specifically, one million patients in the US live with Parkinson's disease, and nearly 90,000 patients are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease yearly. In the US, the healthcare costs associated with Parkinson's disease are estimated to be $52 billion a year. This I-Corps project is based on the development of brain stimulation implants that use the superposition of two similar giga-hertz electromagnetic waves, transmitted by endocranially implanted antenna arrays, for creating a low-frequency envelop signal to stimulate deep brain targets in a highly focused, and yet minimally invasive fashion. The stimulation is based on the following key factors: i) GHz EM waves can be radiated very effectively using antennas, a mature and cost-effective technology. Since the size of an antenna is inversely proportional to the operating frequency, one can use very small antennas at GHz frequencies. (ii) Multiple single antennas can be grouped together to create an antenna array. The higher the number of antennas in an array, the narrower the stimulating beams becomes, penetrating deeper into the brain tissue. (iii) Due to the small wavelength of GHz EM waves, the stimulation offers twice the degrees-of-freedom as prior brain stimulation technologies to achieve focal brain stimulation. (iv) Additionally, one can stimulate multiple targets inside the brain tissue without changing the location of the antenna arrays. This is significantly more flexible than state-of-the-art invasive electrodes for brain stimulation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.