Signals and Systems

Open Opportunities

Restoring motor and sensory functions with a wearable sensorized exoskeleton Chalmers University of Technology Signals and Systems In this project, we propose a real-time sensorized hand-exoskeleton that combines the exosuit and the sensory feedback based on TENS systems. The integrated robotic system will be able to provide the user with assisted grasping force control via exo and with fine grip-force feedback. Peripheral Nervous System, Rehabilitation Engineering, Therapies and Therapeutic Technology Master Thesis

Emulating skin biomechanics through GelSight: neural mechanisms of tactile texture perception Chalmers University of Technology Signals and Systems The project consists in assessing the degree to which our perception of natural texture is shaped by the mechanics of the skin. We have implemented an approach, developed by Ted Adelson at MIT (GelSight), that consists of fabricating a gel whose material properties match those of the skin and then imaging (using a laser profilometer) the pattern of deformation on the surface of the gel that is produced when pressed against the surface. We can then estimate how the skin would be deformed by any given texture using this approach and assess whether we can better predict from these patterns of skin deformation the responses of tactile nerve fibers to that texture and the perception thereof. Biomedical Engineering, Central Nervous System, Sensory Systems Master Thesis

Development of a computational model of the human somatosensory nerves for stimulation and recording Chalmers University of Technology Signals and Systems Our previous studies has identified that the nature of signals recorded with electrodes implanted in the peripheral nervous system strongly depends on the type of electrode and the degree of activity inside the nerve. For this project your aim will be to further explore which dimension of a population activity a given type of electrode can identify. Based on the literature you will identify discharge patterns combination permitting to recreate the main different classes of bio-plausible population activity. You will also complete the existing hybrid model to integrate the main kinds of electrodes used with neural interfaces (use of Solidworks, Matlab, and Comsol). You will then implement your bio-mimetic population activity in the full model and study each electrode’s dynamic selectivity. Your final goal would be to establish rules permitting to classify from the recording alone what “family” of activity is happening in the nerve. Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Modeling and Simulation, Peripheral Nervous System Master Thesis

Development of biomimetic neural sensory feedback for neuroprosthetic applications Chalmers University of Technology Signals and Systems Peripheral intraneural stimulation can provide tactile information to amputees. However, efforts are still necessary to identify encoding strategy eliciting percepts that are felt as both natural and effective for prosthesis control. Here we want to develop neural modulation strategies able to improve the naturalness and efficacy of stimulation to convey sensory information to trans-femoral amputees implanted with intraneural electrodes. Electrical Engineering, Peripheral Nervous System, Rehabilitation Engineering, Sensory Systems Master Thesis

Biomimetic microstimulation of the human somatosensory cortex Chalmers University of Technology Signals and Systems Sensory feedback based on intracortical microstimulation has been shown to improve subjects’ ability to use brain-controlled bionic hands (Flesher et al., 2021). However, the resulting dexterity is still far from that of natural hands in able-bodied individuals. Efforts to sensitize bionic hands for amputees by electrical stimulation of the nerves have shown that sensory feedback that mimics natural tactile signals (so called biomimetic feedback (Okorokova et al., 2018; Saal and Bensmaia, 2015; Saal et al., 2017) evokes more natural and more intuitive sensations that better support interactions with objects than does non-biomimetic feedback. Despite these successes with amputees, biomimetic feedback has never been applied in the context brain-controlled bionic hands. Biomedical Engineering, Central Nervous System, Electrical Engineering, Sensory Systems Master Thesis

Perceptual and cortical representations of corporeal touch explored using intracortical microstimulation of primary somatosensory cortex Chalmers University of Technology Signals and Systems The somatosensory system is crucial to the formation and maintenance of coherent mental representations of our bodies. Traditional concepts of somatosensation have been shaped by the principles of somatotopic and hierarchical organization of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). However, emerging psychophysical phenomena have been studied mostly with natural touch only that undergoes extensive processing along the tactile system, and it is unclear at which stages these phenomena arise. Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of S1 allows to directly evoke vivid touch sensations on the body, the properties of which can by systematically manipulated by varying the parameters of stimulation. In this work, we use ICMS of human S1 in three implanted participants to define cortical-body maps of the human hand and then to link these mental-body perception maps. Biomedical Engineering, Central Nervous System, Sensory Systems Master Thesis