Medical Electronics

Organisation profile:Multidisciplinary scientific research at the Medical Electronics Lab consists of the following topics in the field of functional electrical stimulation: - Micro-mechanical design of multi-channel electrodes for stimulation of nerve fibers and registration of neural responses: a multi-channel electrode consists of a carrier with several (up to tens) electrode contacts. This allows the stimulation with small electrical currents at well-defined locations, and the registration of evoked potentials. - Research on new sound coding algorithms for electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve fibers: in cochlear implants sound is processed by a sound coding algorithm that mimics the processing in a normal ear. Only through improvement of both the sound coding and the stimulation strategy a significantly better sound perception can be reached. - Basic hearing research: basic mechanisms of detection and perception of pitch and loudness in complex listening circumstances are investigated. - Design of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chips for sound coding and stimulation: the sound coding algorithms and stimulation strategies are implemented in a specially designed DSP or ASIC. - Design of low-power micro-electronic circuits for multi-channel stimulation of neural systems: the stimulation electronics have to allow maximum flexibility of the stimulation scheme, but have to be low-power to maximise battery life. - Design of biocompatible packaging of electronics for long-term implantation: the implanted electronics have to be hermetically and biocompatible packaged to guarantee a long term correct working. - Research for "focused field" simultaneous stimulation in the cochlea: improvement of sound perception with a cochlear implant asks for higher stimulation rates, only possible when different sites in the cochlea are stimulated simultaneously. - Research for objective measurement methods to fit and evaluate cochlear implants: objective measurement of neural responses allows the optimised positioning of the electrode and the optimum fitting, without need for a subjective response. - Mathematical modelling of auditory neural response: a model for the neural response is used to evaluate new algorithms for sound coding and stimulation. - Psycho-acoustic test for fitting and evaluation of cochlear implants: evaluation of the implant through the use of psycho-acoustic tests gives the necessary information for revalidation of the implantee.

Keywords:COCHLEAR IMPLANTS, MICRO ELECTRONICS, ELECTRICAL STIMULATION, MICROSCOPY, PSYCHO-ACOUSTICS, MEDICAL ELECTRONICS, HEARING IMPAIRMENT, SOUND PROCESSING

Disciplines:Applied mathematics in specific fields, Medical imaging and therapy, Morphological sciences, Other paramedical sciences