Measurement of forces around implanted electrodes during normal physiological activity

Mechanical stability is a crucial requirement for the long-term functioning of recording brain electrodes. Stresses caused by displacements between the tissue and an electrode are believed to be detrimental to the implant’s function. Current simulation results point towards the role of respiration and blood vessel pulsation as main factors interacting with the implant. The topic will develop a technique to estimate forces and pressure exerted on a brain implant during normal physiological activity. As a starting point, the student will refine the existing FEM model of an implant immersed in soft tissue (see image).

Specifically, the student will explore 1) viscoelastic multicompartmental head model to adequately account for different soft and hard tissues (i.e. brain matter, blood vessels, skull) or 2) more realistic blood vessel models in a simplified tissue geometry.  Based on the outcome of the simulation study, the student will produce an up-scaled tissue phantom and improve the existing experimental setup.