2018 IEEE Brain Initiative Workshop on Advanced NeuroTechnologies

About the session:
Michel Maharbiz, PhD and professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science  department at UC Berkeley, will present his keynote address, "Recent Advances in the Neural Dust Platform: Can we target many motes, deep in the brain and through the skull?"

The neural dust platform uses ultrasonic power and communication to enable a scalable, wireless, and batteryless system for interfacing with the nervous system. Ultrasound offers several advantages over alternative wireless approaches, including a safe method for powering and communicating with sub mm-sized devices implanted deep in tissue. Early studies demonstrated that neural dust motes could wirelessly transmit high-fidelity electrophysiological data in vivo, and that theoretically, this system could be miniaturized well below the mm-scale. Future developments are focused on further minimization of the platform, better encapsulation methods as a path towards truly chronic neural interfaces, improved delivery mechanisms, stimulation capabilities, and finally refinements to enable deployment of neural dust in the central nervous system.

About the speaker:
Michel M. Maharbiz is a Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on the extreme miniaturization of technology focused on building synthetic interfaces to cells and organisms. He is one of the inventors of "neural dust", an ultrasonic interface for vanishingly small implants in the body. His group is also known for developing the world’s first remotely radio-controlled cyborg beetles. This was named one of the top ten emerging technologies of 2009 by MIT’s Technology Review (TR10) and was in Time Magazine’s Top 50 Inventions of 2009. Prof. Maharbiz received his B.S. from Cornell University and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley under nanotechnologist Professor Roger T. Howe (EECS) and synthetic biologist Professor Jay D. Keasling (ChemE); his thesis work led to the foundation of Microreactor Technologies, Inc. which was acquired in 2009 by Pall Corporation. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE (Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society) and a member of the Society for Neuroscience. Prof. Maharbiz is a Chan-Zuckerberg (CZ) Biohub Investigator (2017), a Bakar Fellow (2014), recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2009), a GE Scholar and an Intel IMAP Fellow. Michel’s long term goal is understanding developmental mechanisms as a way to engineer and fabricate machines.

About the event: 
There is an increasing interest and need in the development and use of advanced technologies to monitor and control brain activities to treat neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Epilepsy, Depression, etc., from the molecular to systemic levels, The advanced technologies such as robotics and exoskeletons have already made significant impact on rehabilitation for retraining upper and lower extremity function after stroke, spinal cord injuries and TBI.

The 2018 IEEE Brain Initiative Workshop on Advanced NeuroTechnologies will highlight the development of novel technological innovations, covering both invasive and non-invasive approaches, which provide precise and consistent therapy in a controlled and rigorous manner, track quantitatively the therapy related improvement and treat many subjects simultaneously. The Workshop will also focus on translational neural engineering as well as career and entrepreneurial opportunities in this field.

Invited talks will be presented by internationally well respected experts. An evening poster session will provide presentation opportunities for young researchers. This workshop will provide a unique interactive and networking platform to encourage exchange of ideas with leading researchers and medical and industry professionals.