Ignition Award Helps Advance Therapeutic Research

"For my lab it is a godsend to have this support." -- Eberhard Fetz

Eberhard Fetz, Ph.D., received an Ignition Award to implant a novel recurrent brain-computer interface, called a neurochip, that records activity in the brain and delivers stimuli to muscles or other parts of the brain or spinal cord. His original NIH research grant did not cover the costs of all the experiments needed and that the translational grant helps cover. The two-year Ignition Award of $100,000 was co-sponsored by the ITHS and the Washington National Primate Research Center.

Dr. Fetz’s research has two main potential applications. The neurochip provides an artificial connection between the brain and the muscles and thus bridges lost connections that might occur as a result of spinal injury. Additionally, the neural activity can produce plasticity by connecting two adjacent sites and introducing a stimulus across the connections, a process that strengthens weak connections, such as those that might occur as a result of stroke.

The ultimate goal of the research is to produce a more clinically applicable process using electrodes that sit on the surface of the brain rather than inside it. This surface contact approach is being tested on monkeys to determine if the activity the pads record is specific enough. Dr. Fetz and his group are preparing an R01 application and plan to use the data collected from the Ignition Award research as preliminary evidence on feasibility.