Research
Engineering a better future by interfacing to the body's communications pathways through the bioelectric phenomenon to translate neuroscience to therapies, develop bioelectronic medicines and improve the quality of life of those with sensory-motor injuries and diseases.
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The research conducted in the laboratory spans multiple disciplines and interests. Members are undergraduate, graduate, PhD and medical students with biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematical or medical backgrounds who are interested in understanding or applying the modulatory effects of bioelectric phenomenon. Teamwork, integration and cross pollination across disciplines and cultures are essential touchpoints, and central to the workflow of the lab.
The lab participates and supports the development of professional societies and networks as a means to develop the field and the communities with which the lab operates.
The Bioelectronics Lab has a vertically integrated structure that enables development and testing of bioelectronic therapies targeting the peripheral nervous system and bioelectrically active organs and tissues. In-house capabilities include bioelectrical modeling and design, interface implementation, benchtop characterization and in-vivo testing.
The Bioellab welcomed 3 summer interns to the lab. Nicholas Burris (right) a Weldon School sophomore spent time in the lab (May 20 - July 25) as part of a Purdue University Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF) scholar working on software to support two channel LFAC stimulation. Jon'nell Kinkaid (middle) from Chapel Hill Middle School spent two months (June - July) as part of the NSF sponsored INDI RET program. Jon'nell worked on using advanced manufacturing techniques to support biomedical experiments. Samantha Dennis (left) from Ivy Tech spent two months (June - July) as part of the NSF funded INDI REU program . Samantha worked to explore carbon black and MXene additives to improve the low frequency performance and durability of PEDOT:PSS based electrode contacts.
After 52 years, IUPUI will cease to exist after the Boards of Trustees of IU and PU agreed to split the university into an extension of Purdue University in Indianapolis and a new IU Indianapolis. Some articles about this: IU version, PU version, IUPUI version, Faculty Council version, CHE. Purdue programs at the School of Engineering & Technology are to move to Purdue. As such, the Bioellab and Dr Yoshida will change affiliation to Purdue University on July 1, 2024. Affliations, email accounts, contacts will change between now and then. The Bioellab website will be accessible via https://engineering.purdue.edu/Bioellab
Ryne Horn defended his dissertation titled "Exploration of sinusoidal low frequency alternating current stimulation to block peripheral nerve activity" on 5 April 2024. His work follows up on the LFAC block phenomenon discovered in the Bioellab in 2017 to research to understand its mechanisms and relationship to sinusoidal frequency and electrode geometry. The work implicates NaV1.7 and its closed state inactivation as the mechanism of block, with evidence derived from in-silico and in-vivo experimental observations. Ryne is now pursuing his hiking passion, and is taking on the PCT. At the time of the writing of this piece, he and Julia were approximately at mile marker 300.
Romulus Lontis' paper on inducing phantom sensations using surface electrical stimulation was selected to be on the cover of the journal Prosthesis. The work presents case studies of two amputees treated using surface stimulations which resulted in cutaneous and proprioceptive sensations that projected to the phantom limb. The state of the phantom limb was tracked over the period of months which showed temporary reduction to the instances of phantom limb pain as well as painful phantom sensations. The work is a continuation of the findings from the EU-EPIONE project and was coauthored by Dr Yoshida and Dr Winnie Jensen. The work appears in Prosthesis 2024, 6(1), 1-23; https://doi.org/10.3390/prosthesis6010001.
Amy Kaur will begin her UROP studentship to research the longevity of PEDOT:PSS+Carbon as a bioelectric interface under accelerated use testing. The work complements Gabriel Flath-Everhart's work on developing PEDOT:PSS+MXenes as a bioelectric interface. The works will attempt to identify a suitable bioelectrode for use in chronic application of low frequency alternating current (LFAC) and pulse stimulation for upcoming in-vivo subchronic experiments.
The NIH NEA U24 project for music based interventions & pain headed by Dr Deb Burns launched its website. For more information go to https://audioanalgesia.iu.edu
Dr Deb Burns, PI of the NIH U24 grant will speak at the "Music as Medicine: The Science and Clinical Practice” workshop. The workshop will be held December 14-15, 2023. It is co-organized and co-sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Renée Fleming Foundation, and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The workshop is co-chaired by Dr. Francis Collins, former NIH director, and Ms. Renée Fleming, a renowned American soprano and health and arts advocate, both of whom will deliver keynote speeches and lead the closing session. View the agenda online.
Recordings of this meeting are available online.
December 14, 2023: https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=52714
December 15, 2023: https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=52716
Dr Romulus Lonts' paper "Non-invasive sensory input results in changes in non-painful and painful sensations in two upper limb amputees" was accepted for publication in Prosthesis. The work observations on how surface electrical and mechanical stimulation modulated phantom limb pain in two subjects enrolled in the EU-EPIONE project. The paper was published on 19 Dec 2023 and can be viewed at https://doi.org/10.3390/prosthesis6010001
Shagunpreet Kaur's project aims to develop inertial measurement units (IMU)s as a means to quantify the quality of upper arm movement for those undergoing rehabilitation following stroke. It aims to enable the use of these relatively low cost devices instead of using motion capture, which requires a specialized room/facilities/equipment at the rehabilitation clinic.
Dr Debra Burns from the IUPUI Music Arts and Technology Department was awarded a $2.1M NIH U24 grant, "Music mechanisms and technologies network: Integrative models to address pain through music." Funding was received through the NCCIH (1U24AT012602-01). Dr Yoshida is a co-investigator and part of a team with members from the IU School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, University of Maryland, and University of Utah within this unique 5 year project that aims to form working communities to measure and understand how music modulates pain. The grant was one of only three awarded this year.
Dr Yoshida was invited as a Keynote Speaker as part of the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society (IFESS) conference at RehabWeek 2023 in Singapore on the 26th of Sept 2023. He will talk about the recent work and findings using low frequency alternating current stimulation (LFAC) performed at the Bioellab in a talk entitled "Neuromodulatory Electrical Stimulation Beyond the Pulse." RehabWeek is an international conference and joint meeting of the ACRM, ICORR, IISART, IFESS, ISVR, MiNT, SRMS, MARP-ARMA, and the Motus Academy focusing on current research and development of rehabilitation technologies to help those with motor disabilities. The conference will be held between 24-28 September 2023 in Singapore.
Mrs Jasmine Holliday is a biology teacher at North Central High School in Indianapolis. She will be spending her internship in the Bioellab under the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Teacher Advancement in Nanotechnology (RETAIN) program. She will be spending 6 weeks in the lab in the period from June 12 - July 21, 2023.
Shagunpreet Kaur received an undergraduate Navy Engineering Innovation and Leadership (NEIL) research award to develop inertial measurement units (IMU) to characterize and measure the smoothness of upper extremity movement following stroke. The work is co-mentored by Drs Yoshida (BME-IUPUI) and Huber (PM&R-UKY).
Gabriel Flath-Everhart and Christopher Knight are joining the Bioellab following funding of their undergraduate research opportunity program (UROP) scholarships. Gabriel will work jointly with the Bioellab and Dr Anasori's lab to research on the use of MXenes to improve the durability and conductivity of PEDOT:PSS based electrode contacts. Christopher will work to develop modular 3D printed experimental components to enhance the workflow and stability during in-vivo
Dr Yoshida, Awadh Alhawwash and Ryne Horn attended the 2023 IEEE NER meeting in Baltimore, MD. Awadh and Ryne presented their work on the in-vivo evidence found during LFAC stimulation to activate muscles. Unlike pulse stimulation, LFAC stimulation appears to activate nerve fibers in the normal small caliber first order of recruitment. This could have profound implications that expand the application of electrical stimulation for neuromodulation.
Dr Yoshida was an invited participant at the ESNR Workshop, 16-17 Feb 2023 at the University of Toronto. The workshop was sponsored by the University of Toronto and Medicine by Design.
Dr Yoshida presented recent work and findings related to LFAC activation at Purdue WL Weldon School's Graduate Seminar series. The work outlined current work by Ryne Horn, Awadh Alhawwash and Nathaniel Lazorchak related to in-silico modeling predicting the properties of LFAC activation and the in-vivo verification of these predictions.
Congratulations to Ryne for publishing his work characterizing the geometry independent electrical properties of mammalian peripheral nerve laminae. The work should enable better estimation neural interface models by taking into account the frequency dependent properties of nerve fascicles. The work appears in Artificial Organs.
Awadh, Nathaniel and Ryne's conference paper evidencing the orderly recruitment of muscle fibers using LFAC is accepted for presentation at NER 2023.
BME@IUPUI commissioned a virtual walkthrough of the Department's teaching and research facilities through Matterport. The Bioelectronics lab and its facilities were included as part of the virtual walkthrough. Link to BME Matterport Walkthrough
An undergraduate Navy Engineering Innovation and Leadership (NEIL) research proposal titled "Development of inertial measurement units as a means to quantify the quality of human upper extremity movement" was approved for funding. The $5000 award will fund Karan Bhula who will be mentored by Drs Yoshida (IUPUI) and Huber (U KY PM&R).
International patent application was filed for "Peripheral nerve activation and blocking using cuff assembly and sinusoidal low frequency alternating current" PCT/US22/43612. The patent application describes IP related to LFAC used for block, activation and the block activation window, construction of the 3D printed cuff electrode, and construction of the PEDOT:PSS+CB contacts.
After years of sustained effort, Pier-Nicola Sergi got his paper entitled "Geometric Characterization of Local Changes in Tungsten Microneedle Tips after In-Vivo Insertion into Peripheral Nerves" on work related to the implantation mechanics of the introducer needle during the dimpling effect was accepted for publication in Applied Sciences. DOI: 10.3390/app12188938
The new website for the Bioelectronics Lab is launched. It is still under construction, so some of the links and widgets do not work. Enjoy and please be patient.
