Establishing an intuitive neural interface between human minds and machine is essential to advance human-machine interactions beyond the limitations of our muscles and senses. A robust neural interface is a foundation for collaborative assimilation between human and artificial intelligence that could allow us to compensate and extend our capabilities beyond the biological constraints, becoming better, stronger, faster. Such symbiotic partnership only arises when there is an efficient and intuitive means to transfer complex ideas and massive data between the minds and machines.
A peripheral nerve interface is one of the most promising approaches to facilitate this vital interconnection. The peripheral nerve network carries a vast amount of motor and sensory data across the human body, connecting the brain and spinal cord to all limbs and vital organs. Tapping into this information stream could allow direct communications with neural circuits, enabling the ability to read, understand, and modulate the neural code with high precision. While acquisition and modulation of peripheral nerve signals were extremely challenging in the past, recent advancements in fully-integrated bioelectronics, microelectrodes, and machine learning have enabled the development of a new class of peripheral nerve interfaces that are robust, bidirectional, and high-bandwidth.
An effective peripheral nerve interface could create an interconnection to electrically relay bits of information such as audio, visual, movements, and sensory from external sensors and actuators to the human nervous system. These are the underlying principles of many life-changing biomedical applications to repair lost functions and/or augment human abilities, such as neuroprosthetic limbs, powered exoskeletons, bionic eyes, cochlear implants, artificial skin, etc. The same principles can also be utilized to understand, diagnose, and treat numerous neurological diseases and conditions, including neuropathy, chronic pain, essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
This Research Topic includes original research and review articles that focus on recent technological advances in developing peripheral nerve interfaces and uses of nerve interfaces in biomedical applications, diagnosis, and treatment of neurological diseases.
Potential topics include but are not limited to:
- Advances in neural recorders and stimulators for peripheral nerve signal acquisition and modulation.
- Advances in microelectrode designs and materials for implantable nerve interface.
- Advances in digital signal processing methods for modeling, analysis, and compression of nerve signals.
- Advances in machine learning approaches, including deep learning, for decoding nerve data.
- Characterization of the nerve interface’s information throughput.
- Application of nerve interface for intuitive and dexterous neuroprosthesis control and powered exoskeletons.
- Application of nerve stimulation for restoring somatosensation.
- Application of nerve stimulation for treatment of essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
- Application of autonomic nerve stimulation for treatment of chronic pain, neuropathy, etc.
Establishing an intuitive neural interface between human minds and machine is essential to advance human-machine interactions beyond the limitations of our muscles and senses. A robust neural interface is a foundation for collaborative assimilation between human and artificial intelligence that could allow us to compensate and extend our capabilities beyond the biological constraints, becoming better, stronger, faster. Such symbiotic partnership only arises when there is an efficient and intuitive means to transfer complex ideas and massive data between the minds and machines.
A peripheral nerve interface is one of the most promising approaches to facilitate this vital interconnection. The peripheral nerve network carries a vast amount of motor and sensory data across the human body, connecting the brain and spinal cord to all limbs and vital organs. Tapping into this information stream could allow direct communications with neural circuits, enabling the ability to read, understand, and modulate the neural code with high precision. While acquisition and modulation of peripheral nerve signals were extremely challenging in the past, recent advancements in fully-integrated bioelectronics, microelectrodes, and machine learning have enabled the development of a new class of peripheral nerve interfaces that are robust, bidirectional, and high-bandwidth.
An effective peripheral nerve interface could create an interconnection to electrically relay bits of information such as audio, visual, movements, and sensory from external sensors and actuators to the human nervous system. These are the underlying principles of many life-changing biomedical applications to repair lost functions and/or augment human abilities, such as neuroprosthetic limbs, powered exoskeletons, bionic eyes, cochlear implants, artificial skin, etc. The same principles can also be utilized to understand, diagnose, and treat numerous neurological diseases and conditions, including neuropathy, chronic pain, essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
This Research Topic includes original research and review articles that focus on recent technological advances in developing peripheral nerve interfaces and uses of nerve interfaces in biomedical applications, diagnosis, and treatment of neurological diseases.
Potential topics include but are not limited to:
- Advances in neural recorders and stimulators for peripheral nerve signal acquisition and modulation.
- Advances in microelectrode designs and materials for implantable nerve interface.
- Advances in digital signal processing methods for modeling, analysis, and compression of nerve signals.
- Advances in machine learning approaches, including deep learning, for decoding nerve data.
- Characterization of the nerve interface’s information throughput.
- Application of nerve interface for intuitive and dexterous neuroprosthesis control and powered exoskeletons.
- Application of nerve stimulation for restoring somatosensation.
- Application of nerve stimulation for treatment of essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
- Application of autonomic nerve stimulation for treatment of chronic pain, neuropathy, etc.
