Smart Electrical Circuits and Systems for Neural Interface

A special issue of Electronics (ISSN 2079-9292). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioelectronics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2020) | Viewed by 21436

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, 400 Bizzell St, College Station, TX 77843, USA
Interests: neuroprosthesis; sensorimotor loop intervention with artificial sensory feedback; human augmentation/rehabilitation; rhythmic/patterned muscle activity; spinal cord injury; neurodegenerative disease, assistive technology; intraoral device
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are organizing a Special Issue entitled "Smart Electrical Circuits and Systems for Neural Interface" in MDPI’s Electronics journal, https://www.mdpi.com/journal/electronics. We invite researchers all around world to share great ideas and simulation/experiment data.

The nervous system is highly adaptive. If we can interface and communicate with the nervous system, we can guide neural adaptation in the proper direction for the desired human augmentation or rehabilitation. We can also guide neural adaptation in response to internal and environmental changes, because natural adaptation is often sub-optimal and results in undesirable secondary conditions. Electrical circuits and systems can favorably intervene in the operation of the nervous system, as the neural signal can be recorded and modulated electrically. The goal of favorable neural intervention can be achieved only when all components of the electrical neural interface work in harmony. The electrical neural interface can be composed of several electrical components, including but not limited to electrodes, neural amplifiers, filters, analog-to-digital converters, microprocessors, neural stimulators, power management, wireless power transfer, wireless transceivers, and antenna.

In this Special Issue, we would like to provide researchers with an overview of the current trends in electrical circuits and systems for neural interfaces. We hope that the high-quality papers we will collect and publish will provide a chance for all of us to review the current status of the electrical circuits and systems for neural interfaces and to consider the future of this field.

Dr. Hangue Park
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • neural interface
  • neural recording
  • neural stimulation
  • neural circuits and systems
  • human augmentation
  • human rehabilitation

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 7043 KiB  
Article
A Closed-Loop Optogenetic Stimulation Device
by Epsy S. Edward and Abbas Z. Kouzani
Electronics 2020, 9(1), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9010096 - 03 Jan 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4540
Abstract
Closed-loop optogenetic stimulation devices deliver optical stimulations based on real-time measurement and analysis of neural responses to stimulations. However, the use of large bench-top and tethered devices hinders the naturalistic test environment, which is crucial in pre-clinical neuroscience studies involving small rodent subjects. [...] Read more.
Closed-loop optogenetic stimulation devices deliver optical stimulations based on real-time measurement and analysis of neural responses to stimulations. However, the use of large bench-top and tethered devices hinders the naturalistic test environment, which is crucial in pre-clinical neuroscience studies involving small rodent subjects. This paper presents a tetherless, lightweight and miniaturized head-mountable closed-loop optogenetic stimulation device. The device consists of three hardware modules: a hybrid electrode, an action potential detector, and an optogenetic stimulator. In addition, the device includes three software modules: a feature extractor, a control algorithm, and a pulse generator. The details of the design, implementation, and bench-testing of the device are presented. Furthermore, an in vitro test environment is formed using synthetic neural signals, wherein the device is validated for its closed-loop performance. During the in vitro validation, the device was able to identify abnormal neural signals, and trigger optical stimulation. On the other hand, it was able to also distinguish normal neural signals and inhibit optical stimulation. The overall power consumption of the device is 24 mW. The device measures 6 mm in radius and weighs 0.44 g excluding the power source. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Electrical Circuits and Systems for Neural Interface)
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14 pages, 1254 KiB  
Article
A 270-GHz Push-Push Transformer-Based Oscillator Adopting Power Leakage Suppression Technique
by Dzuhri Radityo Utomo, Dae-Woong Park, Jong-Phil Hong and Sang-Gug Lee
Electronics 2019, 8(11), 1347; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics8111347 - 14 Nov 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2869
Abstract
A push–push transformer-based oscillator (TBO) adopting a power leakage suppression technique has been proposed. The proposed technique reduces the power loss due to unwanted leakage path without additional DC power consumption, hence improving the output power and DC-to-RF efficiency. The measured output power [...] Read more.
A push–push transformer-based oscillator (TBO) adopting a power leakage suppression technique has been proposed. The proposed technique reduces the power loss due to unwanted leakage path without additional DC power consumption, hence improving the output power and DC-to-RF efficiency. The measured output power of the proposed single core oscillator is −4.5 dBm at 270 GHz with 2.1% DC-to-RF efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Electrical Circuits and Systems for Neural Interface)
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11 pages, 2745 KiB  
Article
A Millimeter-Wave Fundamental Frequency CMOS-Based Oscillator with High Output Power
by Thanh Dat Nguyen, Hangue Park and Jong-Phil Hong
Electronics 2019, 8(11), 1228; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics8111228 - 27 Oct 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3641
Abstract
The millimeter-wave imaging approach is a promising candidate to satisfy the unmet needs of real-time biomedical imaging, such as resolution, focal area, and cost. As a part of the endeavor to make millimeter-wave imaging more feasible, this paper presents a CMOS oscillator generating [...] Read more.
The millimeter-wave imaging approach is a promising candidate to satisfy the unmet needs of real-time biomedical imaging, such as resolution, focal area, and cost. As a part of the endeavor to make millimeter-wave imaging more feasible, this paper presents a CMOS oscillator generating a high output power at the millimeter-wave frequency range, with a high fundamental oscillation frequency. The proposed oscillator adopts a frequency-selective negative resistance topology to improve the negative transconductance and to increase the fundamental frequency of oscillation. The proposed oscillator was implemented in a 65 nm bulk CMOS process. The measured highest output power is −2.2 dBm at 190 GHz while dissipating 100 mW from a 2.8 V supply voltage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Electrical Circuits and Systems for Neural Interface)
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20 pages, 3786 KiB  
Article
Switch Elements with S-Shaped Current-Voltage Characteristic in Models of Neural Oscillators
by Petr Boriskov and Andrei Velichko
Electronics 2019, 8(9), 922; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics8090922 - 22 Aug 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4355
Abstract
In this paper, we present circuit solutions based on a switch element with the S-type I–V characteristic implemented using the classic FitzHugh–Nagumo and FitzHugh–Rinzel models. Using the proposed simplified electrical circuits allows the modeling of the integrate-and-fire neuron and burst oscillation modes with [...] Read more.
In this paper, we present circuit solutions based on a switch element with the S-type I–V characteristic implemented using the classic FitzHugh–Nagumo and FitzHugh–Rinzel models. Using the proposed simplified electrical circuits allows the modeling of the integrate-and-fire neuron and burst oscillation modes with the emulation of the mammalian cold receptor patterns. The circuits were studied using the experimental I–V characteristic of an NbO2 switch with a stable section of negative differential resistance (NDR) and a VO2 switch with an unstable NDR, considering the temperature dependences of the threshold characteristics. The results are relevant for modern neuroelectronics and have practical significance for the introduction of the neurodynamic models in circuit design and the brain–machine interface. The proposed systems of differential equations with the piecewise linear approximation of the S-type I–V characteristic may be of scientific interest for further analytical and numerical research and development of neural networks with artificial intelligence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Electrical Circuits and Systems for Neural Interface)
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16 pages, 3483 KiB  
Article
Remote-Controlled Fully Implantable Neural Stimulator for Freely Moving Small Animal
by Seunghyeon Yun, Chin Su Koh, Joonsoo Jeong, Jungmin Seo, Seung-Hee Ahn, Gwang Jin Choi, Shinyong Shim, Jaewoo Shin, Hyun Ho Jung, Jin Woo Chang and Sung June Kim
Electronics 2019, 8(6), 706; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics8060706 - 22 Jun 2019
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5300
Abstract
The application of a neural stimulator to small animals is highly desired for the investigation of electrophysiological studies and development of neuroprosthetic devices. For this purpose, it is essential for the device to be implemented with the capabilities of full implantation and wireless [...] Read more.
The application of a neural stimulator to small animals is highly desired for the investigation of electrophysiological studies and development of neuroprosthetic devices. For this purpose, it is essential for the device to be implemented with the capabilities of full implantation and wireless control. Here, we present a fully implantable stimulator with remote controllability, compact size, and minimal power consumption. Our stimulator consists of modular units of (1) a surface-type cortical array for inducing directional change of a rat, (2) a depth-type array for providing rewards, and (3) a package for accommodating the stimulating electronics, a battery and ZigBee telemetry, all of which are assembled after independent fabrication and implantation using customized flat cables and connectors. All three modules were packaged using liquid crystal polymer (LCP) to avoid any chemical reaction after implantation. After bench-top evaluation of device functionality, the stimulator was implanted into rats to train the animals to turn to the left (or right) following a directional cue applied to the barrel cortex. Functionality of the device was also demonstrated in a three-dimensional (3D) maze structure, by guiding the rats to better navigate in the maze. The movement of the rat could be wirelessly controlled by a combination of artificial sensation evoked by the surface electrode array and reward stimulation. We could induce rats to turn left or right in free space and help their navigation through the maze. The polymeric packaging and modular design could encapsulate the devices with strict size limitations, which made it possible to fully implant the device into rats. Power consumption was minimized by a dual-mode power-saving scheme with duty cycling. The present study demonstrated feasibility of the proposed neural stimulator to be applied to neuroprosthesis research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Electrical Circuits and Systems for Neural Interface)
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