Brain Stimulation Project: Researchers from the University of Glasgow are participating in a pan-European effort to devise a revolutionary new treatment for a variety of neurological disorders.
The Wireless Deep Brain Stimulation Through Engineered Multifunctional Nanomaterials (BRAINSTORM) project aims to create small injectable magnets that could restore function to damaged neurons in the brains of patients.
The BRAINSTORM team hopes that their research could treat or even cure conditions such as depression, panic attacks, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.
In a preclinical investigation, the team’s nanoscale magnets will be injected into the bloodstreams of rodents and controlled by external magnets to deliver neurostimulation to specific neurons in their brains.
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Study Finds Brain Stimulation Project Could Treat Wide Range Of Neurological Disorders
Neurostimulation, which employs electrical currents or magnetic fields to modulate the activity of nerves or neural circuits, is currently used to treat a variety of brain-related disorders, frequently in conjunction with surgical implantation of the electrodes that deliver the treatments.
Over the next four years, researchers from the University of Glasgow will collaborate with their counterparts from Germany, Italy, Spain, and Finland to develop the BRAINSTORM technology, which could yield better results with less invasive techniques.
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The University of Glasgow researchers are collaborating with colleagues from Germany, Italy, Spain, and Finland on this initiative, which is supported by €3 million (£2.57 million) from the Pathfinder programme of the European Innovation Council. The Pathfinder programme funds the development of emergent breakthrough technologies by researchers.A defining characteristic of Professor Hadi Heidari
Professor of Nanoelectronics at the James Watt School of Engineering Hadi Heidari is directing the University of Glasgow’s participation in BRAINSTORM.
He and his team at the School’s Microelectronics Lab will create a wearable helmet-like device that uses magnets to precisely target neuromodulation treatments in the brain.
Neuromodulation is a treatment with a great deal of potential for treating a variety of conditions, he said. However, our current neuromodulation delivery methods necessitate invasive surgeries to implant electrodes, which can be costly, agonising, and expose patients to an increased risk of infection.
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“BRAINSTORM is an innovative opportunity to reimagine the delivery of wireless neuromodulation. It builds on recent advancements in magnetic coil nanofabrication, materials science, and medicine to enable the discovery of new methods to precisely’switch on’ or’switch off’ neuronal activity for therapeutic purposes.
“I’m excited to be collaborating with my European colleagues on this research, and I look forward to developing some of the key technologies that will help patients gain access to new treatments in the coming years.”
COGNITIVE REFLECTION Professor Danijela Gregurec of Germany’s Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg leads the group. Together with the University of Glasgow, researchers from CIC biomaGUNE in Spain, Tor Vergata University in Italy, and the University of Helsinki in Finland are contributing to the initiative.
