Neurological issues such as Parkinson’s, post stroke disabilities, limb loss and paralysis significantly diminish the duration and quality of life- affecting about 1 in 6 people worldwide. With a growing number of biomedical innovations, driven in large part by older population dealing with debilitating health issues are improving both cognitive and motor function.
A new National Science Foundation (NSF) / University cooperative research center will focus on developing and testing new neural technologies with the potential to dramatically enhance patient function across a wide range of diseases and injuries while lowering the costs and increasing accessibility.
The BRAIN center will be led by researchers from Arizona state university and the University of Houston which will work with industry partner and will speed up technologies to the market.
BRAIN would focus on developing and testing neuro technologies designed to address a wide range of sensory, motor and cognitive functions. Such neural technologies could save an estimated $400 billion in future costs according to U.S CDC
The BRAIN center is a way to bring together top faculty at both institutions to address critical challenges in the biomedical field by working along with industry.
Contreras-Vidal and Marco Santello, director of ASU’s School of Biological Health Sciences, will lead the project, which involves more than 50 researchers from both institutions, along with 14 members from industry, including several hospital systems. The researchers come from a wide range of disciplines, from engineering to law, data science and physiology. More information is available on the center websites, https://brain.engineering.asu.edu/research/ and http://brain.egr.uh.edu/
Life expectancy in the 21st century has dramatically increased with the help of medical advances. The BRAIN center would enable the development of safe and reliable neuro technologies to address the rise in chronic, degenerative diseases associated with ageing population.
The BRAIN center was launched with a $1.5 million grant from the National science foundation that is shared equally by the universities. Industry collaborators pay $50,000 a year to partner with faculty, using university laboratories to co-develop and validate new technologies.
A dedicated space is provided on both campuses and the center will host 2 meetings a year with a summer meeting in Phoenix and a second meeting in Houston this fall. Industry teams will present proposals for developing collaborative research projects.
Research areas includes a wide range from big data to neuro rehabilitation and neuro modulation device development to robotic- assisted therapy and regulatory science.
The NSF grant also includes a workforce training component with a focus on recruiting and training students from under represented communities in undergraduate programs.