Code
G0AJB25N
Duration
01 January 2025 → 31 December 2028
Funding
Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Promotor-spokesperson
Research disciplines
-
Medical and health sciences
- Neurological and neuromuscular diseases
- Neurophysiology
- Neurosciences not elsewhere classified
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Engineering and technology
- Modelling not elsewhere classified
- Other (bio)medical engineering not elsewhere classified
Keywords
Temoral Interfernce Stimulation
Epilepsy
Biophysical modelling
Project description
Epilepsy, a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures, afflicts 25 to 70 million people worldwide. Anti-seizure medication is the first-line treatment, but 1/3 patients are not seizure-free with these drugs. Implantation of deep brain electrodes can be an option however, this treatment is associated with risks and has limited acceptance by patients. This project aims to establish the foundation for a new paradigm of non-invasive, patient-specific, closed-loop neuromodulation for the treatment of epilepsy using temporal interference stimulation (TIS). To achieve this ambitious goal, the consortium combines unique expertise in TIS hardware design, computational electromagnetic dosimetry, neuromodulation modeling, in vitro and in vivo experiments, electrophysiology recordings and whole-brain imaging. The project aims to achieve the following objectives i) development of LFP/ MRI-compatible TIS hardware, ii) investigating the relationship between TIS parameter configurations and neuronal excitability in a rodent brain slice model, iii) simulation-based optimization of TIS selectivity/targeting in individualized models of rodent head and brain, iv) in vivo whole-brain imaging in rodents to assess spatial distribution of TIS and impact on network dynamics v) proof-of-concept for TIS as a seizure suppressing therapy in a rodent epilepsy model and vi) computational modeling of EM-brain network interactions based on the obtained imaging and electrophysiological data.