Addressing the wireless power problem: A low-power hybrid radio for neuroscience experiments

Project Summary Closed-loop stimulation is key to the study and treatment of neurological disorders. However, largely due to current wireless power demands, stimulation systems are restricted to wired connections, which impact natural behavior, induce motion artifacts, and limit complexity of study design. While a few wireless recording- only systems have been developed, the power demands of these devices prohibit the addition of wireless electrical stimulation while staying within size and weight limitations for smaller animal models. These limitations are roadblocks to the next phase of neuroscience research and clinical development. In this Phase I, 1.5 year, STTR project, Spike Neuro is partnering with Duke University to develop a novel low power hybrid backscatter radio frequency system to enable the commercialization of a series of wireless recording and electrical stimulation headstages for small and large animal electrophysiology research. This innovative wireless technology shifts the high-power demand features out of the headworn components to the base station, significantly reducing battery size and weight enabling the addition of the electrical stimulation components and allowing for more flexibility in recording only experiments. This development work will result in two headstage options for small animals with 5 and 16 channels of recording and 2 channels of electrical stimulation and two slightly larger systems for 32 and 64 channels of recording with 8 channels of electrical stimulation. Aim 1 focuses on the development of the 5 and 16 channel systems and the electrical stimulation integration. Aim 2 will build upon the efforts in Aim 1 to expand the system to up to 64 channels with 8 channels of electrical stimulation. Both aims will also include hardware and software integration with the Spike Neuro data acquisition system. Aim 3 will conclude with benchtop and in vivo validation of our system to demonstrate successfully achieving key features needed for a commercial wireless recording and stimulation headstage. This proposal brings together a strong team of experts in wireless technology, electrophysiology, and commercialization to develop a wireless system that meets the growing needs of the neuroscience community. The Phase I work will result in a multiple headstage options ready for commercialization while informing continued Phase II development. In our future work, we will continue to scale our system to increase channel count and reduce the latency of the closed-loop electrical stimulation.