A wireless neuroprosthetic for augmenting perception through modulated electrical stimulation of somatosensory cortex

This paper presents a novel neuroprosthetic system for perception encoding. The system consists of a wireless waterproof bi-directional neural interface and an object tracking image sensor. The neural interface features a fully programmable 8-channel neural stimulator, a compliance voltage and impedance monitoring module, a 16-channel neural recording front-end, and a duplex wireless transceiver. The image sensor features a 180×180 pixel array, with in-pixel comparator for energy efficient color thresholding based object detection tracking. A unique experiment was designed in which rats navigate a water maze using only brain stimulation to inform their location relative to a hidden platform. Custom hardware and software have been developed to support the investigation, with special attention paid to the safety of the animals during the experiment. The proposed chip designs have been fabricated in 180nm CMOS technology. This work demonstrates a novel experimental paradigm, and that the developed wireless neuroprosthetic system can be used to conduct extensive sensory encoding experiments in freely behaving animals.