Kick-off du projet ANR « Rocketeer »

02 November 2023 par Philippe Basset [TheChamp-Sharing]
Le 9 octobre 2023 a eu à Lyon le Kick-Off du projet ANR ROCKETEER auquel participe ESYCOM et qui porte sur le développement de réseaux de micro-stimulateurs électriques alimentés par ultrasons pour la régénération neuronale.

Rocketeer is a groundbreaking project aimed at restoring lost neural functions after a trauma or neurodegenerative diseases in the central nervous system. By developping an in vitro platform to validate the concept of implantable wireless and battery-free neural stimulators that use micromachined piezoelectric generators, the project will determine the minimum dimension of individual implants. Starting with diameter around 550µm and 250µm in the project, the membrane diameter can be progressively decreased and evaluated using the test platform with independent PMUT and electrode/transistor arrays. In the long term, Rocketeer’s project provides the main electronic component to develop a wireless and battery-free technology for both neural recording and stimulation. This technology will dramatically reduce invasiveness of the surgery procedures, minimize risks of infection, connectivity issues, and hindering healing process associated to the current cable-based technologies. Several sensors or stimulators can be freely placed in 3D according to the relevant nerve circuit, with one insertion, without the limits currently imposed by wires. These properties will appeal to many surgeons and neuroscience research groups using electrophysiology. Additionally, this technology could be combined with maturing brain functional ultrasound imaging techniques such as super-resolution imaging to observe changes in vasculature to further enhance its capabilities.