F7DIEC - Electroceuticals for Electrical and Magnetic Neurostimulation Therapies

Advances in bioelectromagnetics, electronics and neural engineering are setting the stage for a new era in medicine, where many diseases and conditions will be treated using electroceuticals: devices for electrical or magnetic neural stimulation. Considering that the human body and individual organs are fully controlled by the nervous system, a vast range of opportunities arise to tap into this system and generate therapeutic effects, without the common adverse side-effects of pharmaceuticals. This course will provide the prerequisite knowledge for understanding and for developing neurostimulation electroceuticals: basics of neural electrophysiology and bioelectromagnetics, a review of existing and emerging clinical applications, engineering challenges and solutions.

In the case of foreign lecturers, there will be a weeklong block of intensive contact education for the number of students at least five. If the number of students is less than five, the course will be self-study with consultations using VoIP (e.g. Skype) and a contact 1-or 2-day seminar. The contact seminar will take place at the FBMI or at the home institution of a foreign lecturer. The subjects are concluded by an oral examination. The student must elaborate a paper on a given topic together with the exam in case of the controlled self-study.

Two laboratory exercises are required for admission to the exam (attested by a protocol signed by the student, the tutor and the supervisor of the course).

The protocols will be archived in the Department for Doctoral Studies.

Lectures:

1.Nerve cells and resting membrane potential. Nerve excitation and action potential

2.Nerve modeling, stimulation waveforms and response thresholds

3.Basics of human neurophysiology, brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves

4.Clinically used applications of neurostimulation

5.Emerging applications of neurostimulation

6.Clinically used therapeutic medical devices for electrical and magnetic neurostimulation

7.Novel therapeutic medical devices for electrical and magnetic neurostimulation

8.Bioelectronic interfaces, electrodes and applicators. Engineering challenges, constraints and solutions

9.Implanted bioelectronic devices: applications, miniaturization, energy efficiency and biocompatibility. Wireless power supply for bioelectronic implants

10.Electrical safety and electromagnetic compatibility aspects of electroceuticals, EMF exposure issues. Research, development and innovation of electroceuticals

Laboratory:

1.Therapeutic medical devices for electrical and magnetic neurostimulation

2.Dynamic modeling of EM-induced neuronal activation inhibition & synchronization

Advances in bioelectromagnetics, electronics and neural engineering are setting the stage for a new era in medicine, where many diseases and conditions will be treated using electroceuticals: devices for electrical or magnetic neural stimulation. Considering that the human body and individual organs are fully controlled by the nervous system, a vast range of opportunities arise to tap into this system and generate therapeutic effects, without the common adverse side-effects of pharmaceuticals. This course will provide the prerequisite knowledge for understanding and for developing neurostimulation electroceuticals: basics of neural electrophysiology and bioelectromagnetics, a review of existing and emerging clinical applications, engineering challenges and solutions.

Required:

[1]J. P. Reilly and A. M. Diamant, Electrostimulation: Theory, Applications, and Computational Model, Boston, London: Artech House, 2011.

Recommended:

[1]Jaakko Malmivuo & Robert Plonsey: Bioelectromagnetism - Principles and Applications of Bioelectric and Biomagnetic Fields, Oxford University Press, New York, 1995.

[2]Biodesign: The process of innovating medical technologies, editors, Paul G. Yock, Stefanos Zenios, Joshua Makower, Todd J. Brinton, Uday N. Kumar, F. T. Jay Watkins; principal writer, Lyn Denend; Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Modul D