Researchers from Rutgers Health and other institutions were awarded a grant for $2.8 million over the course of three years from the National Institutes of Health to improve implantable devices for epileptic patients.
The grant will fund a program to develop the next generation of responsive neurostimulation devices that can be implanted in the brains of people affected with severe epileptic seizures to reduce or eliminate their occurrence.
The researchers said an existing device is effective in reducing seizure frequency among patients; however, it eliminates seizures in only 15% to 20% of them.
“We are excited to initiate a promising project focused on developing a new treatment option for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy,” Dr. Hai Sun, vice chair of clinical affairs and associate professor of neurosurgery in the Department of Neurosurgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, an RWJBarnabas Health affiliate, said.
“Our goal is to design and implement a new generation of devices that are equipped with a better seizure prediction algorithm and can stimulate larger areas of the brain where seizures initiate. We plan to bring this device to market in the next five years.”
In addition to Rutgers’ researchers, the study team includes interdisciplinary scientists in the field of artificial intelligence and neuroscience from Stevens Institute of Technology and physician-scientists from Emory School of Medicine.
The Stevens team will focus on developing computer algorithms and models for the project.
“I’m excited about this grant because it supports the development of a new seizure control device, which could offer a transformative treatment for patients with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy,” assistant professor Feng Liu said. “We look forward to working with the great team led by Dr. Hai Sun, comprised of neurosurgeons, epileptologists, artificial intelligence researchers and industry partners, to move this field forward.”
