Development and testing of a non-invasive electrical stimulation system for eye blink restoration

Unilateral facial paralysis is a condition in which one side of the face functions normally while functions on the other side are impaired and in which the face may look asymmetrical at rest. The most common form of unilateral facial paralysis is Bell’s palsy[1]. Non-invasive electrical stimulation can be used to target facial muscles such as the orbicularis oculi muscle that control eye blinking[2], [3] as well as the facial nerve that can maintain overall facial muscle tone[4], [5]. The development of a wearable system that is able to sense healthy blinks and stimulate s synchronous artificial blink would take steps towards the development of a complete system for restoring facial function. References: [1] E. Peitersen, “Bell’s palsy: The spontaneous course of 2,500 peripheral facial nerve palsies of different etiologies,” Acta Oto-Laryngologica, Supplement, no. 549, pp. 4–30, 2002, doi: 10.1080/000164802760370736. [2] D. McDonnall, K. S. Guillory, and M. D. Gossman, “Restoration of blink in facial paralysis patients using FES,” 2009 4th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering, NER ’09, pp. 76–79, 2009, doi: 10.1109/NER.2009.5109238. [3] A. Frigerio, J. T. Heaton, P. Cavallari, C. Knox, M. H. Hohman, and T. A. Hadlock, “Electrical stimulation of eye blink in individuals with acute facial palsy: Progress toward a bionic blink,” Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, vol. 136, no. 4, pp. 515e–523e, 2015, doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000001639. [4] E. Mäkelä et al., “Facial muscle reanimation by transcutaneous electrical stimulation for peripheral facial nerve palsy,” Journal of Medical Engineering and Technology, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 155–164, 2019, doi: 10.1080/03091902.2019.1637470. [5] E. Mäkelä et al., “Electrically Induced Blink for the Prevention of Ocular Symptoms and Blurred Vision in Patients With Acute Facial Nerve Palsy,” Ear Nose Throat J, p. 014556132110485, Oct. 2021, doi: 10.1177/01455613211048576.

Unilateral facial paralysis is a condition in which one side of the face functions normally while functions on the other side are impaired and in which the face may look asymmetrical at rest. The most common form of unilateral facial paralysis is Bell’s palsy[1]. Non-invasive electrical stimulation can be used to target facial muscles such as the orbicularis oculi muscle that control eye blinking[2], [3] as well as the facial nerve that can maintain overall facial muscle tone[4], [5]. The development of a wearable system that is able to sense healthy blinks and stimulate s synchronous artificial blink would take steps towards the development of a complete system for restoring facial function.

References:
[1] E. Peitersen, “Bell’s palsy: The spontaneous course of 2,500 peripheral facial nerve palsies of different etiologies,” Acta Oto-Laryngologica, Supplement, no. 549, pp. 4–30, 2002, doi: 10.1080/000164802760370736.
[2] D. McDonnall, K. S. Guillory, and M. D. Gossman, “Restoration of blink in facial paralysis patients using FES,” 2009 4th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering, NER ’09, pp. 76–79, 2009, doi: 10.1109/NER.2009.5109238.
[3] A. Frigerio, J. T. Heaton, P. Cavallari, C. Knox, M. H. Hohman, and T. A. Hadlock, “Electrical stimulation of eye blink in individuals with acute facial palsy: Progress toward a bionic blink,” Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, vol. 136, no. 4, pp. 515e–523e, 2015, doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000001639.
[4] E. Mäkelä et al., “Facial muscle reanimation by transcutaneous electrical stimulation for peripheral facial nerve palsy,” Journal of Medical Engineering and Technology, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 155–164, 2019, doi: 10.1080/03091902.2019.1637470.
[5] E. Mäkelä et al., “Electrically Induced Blink for the Prevention of Ocular Symptoms and Blurred Vision in Patients With Acute Facial Nerve Palsy,” Ear Nose Throat J, p. 014556132110485, Oct. 2021, doi: 10.1177/01455613211048576.

The student will be guided in understanding the concepts of non-invasive stimulation as well as the effects of unilateral facial paralysis. They will also be introduced to state of the art of neuroprostheses with scientific literature readings, and our existing muscle and nerve stimulation system. The major goals (mandatory) for the student will be: 1. Develop a wearable system that includes all existing components of the system including real-time detection on the impaired side and synchronized stimulation on the healthy side. 2. Test on patients and volunteers to obtain a statistical meaningful description of cause-effect

The student will be guided in understanding the concepts of non-invasive stimulation as well as the effects of unilateral facial paralysis. They will also be introduced to state of the art of neuroprostheses with scientific literature readings, and our existing muscle and nerve stimulation system.
The major goals (mandatory) for the student will be:
1. Develop a wearable system that includes all existing components of the system including real-time detection on the impaired side and synchronized stimulation on the healthy side.
2. Test on patients and volunteers to obtain a statistical meaningful description of cause-effect

Dr. Stanisa Raspopovic, Assistant Professor Neuroengineering laboratory, Head ETH Zurich, Switzerland Email: stanisa.raspopovic@hest.ethz.ch Lauren Chee, PhD Student at the Neuroengineering laboratory, Email: lauren.chee@hest.ethz.ch

Dr. Stanisa Raspopovic, Assistant Professor Neuroengineering laboratory, Head ETH Zurich, Switzerland Email: stanisa.raspopovic@hest.ethz.ch
Lauren Chee, PhD Student at the Neuroengineering laboratory, Email: lauren.chee@hest.ethz.ch