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The primary aim of this interdisciplinary research is to develop
new methods and microdevices that will allow human operation at the
level of single axons and the repair of damaged neural circuits. The
fundamental operation involves precise insertion of a donor axon segment
to replace a region of damage and thereby achieve functional recovery.
The core technologies include MEMS fabrication & engineering, electrokinetic
manipulation, and fundamental principles of neuroscience. Pilot studies
have demonstrated the feasibility of the individual steps of microscale
axon repair using relatively simple experimental set-ups (Sretavan et
al 2005). Recent work has also demonstrated that microscale instruments
can be deployed and utilized effectively in real-life surgical environments
to enable new neurosurgical procedures on single axons (Chang et al
2007). Our current goals are the demonstration of axonal function after
repair and the development of a space-efficient (< 1mm3) multifunctional
micro-platform / microdevice with both MEMS and Nanoscale features that
will carry out an axon repair sequence efficiently and reliably. Future
effort will also be focused on conferring a substantial amount of programmability
and autonomy onto the axon surgical device, and to develop an appropriate
interface between the human surgeon and axonal targets.
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