ECE 595T - Engineering in Medicine: Neural Systems

Course Details

Lecture Hours: 3 Credits: 3

Counts as:

Experimental Course Offered:

Spring 2002, Spring 2003

Catalog Description:

Introduction to the use of engineering principles to address questions of clinical significance in the nervous system. Topics include: anatomy of the nervous system, fundamental properties of excitable tissues, hearing, vision, motor function, electrical and magnetic stimulation, functional neuroimaging, disorders of the nervous system, development and refinement of sensory prostheses.

Required Text(s):

  1. From Neuron to Brain , 4th Edition , J. G. Nicholls, et. al. , Sinauer Associates, Inc. , 2001 , ISBN No. 0-878-93439-1

Recommended Text(s):

  1. Brain Activation , 1st Edition , P. E. Roland , John Wiley & Sons, Inc , 1997 , ISBN No. 0-471-18441-1
  2. Cellular Biophysics (Volume 2): Electrical Properties , 1st Edition , T. F. Weiss , MIT Press , 1995 , ISBN No. 0-262-23184-0
  3. Functional Brain Imaging , 1st Edition , W. W. Orison, et. al. , Mosby-Year Book , 1994 , ISBN No. 0-815-16509-9

Learning Outcomes:

A student who successfully fulfills the course requirements will have demonstrated:
  1. the ability to design and utilize models of neural systems to explain or predict physiologic behavior. [a,b,c,e]
  2. the ability to verbally present information related to measurement of the nervous system. [f,g,h]
  3. a systems-level understanding of the organization and operation of vision, audition and motor function. [a,f,h,j]
  4. an understanding of the ethical constraints on the development and testing of sensory prostheses. [f,h,i,j]
  5. the ability to prepare and defend a proposed plan of research directed toward the improvement or replacement of impaired sensory function. [a,b,c,e,f,g,h,i,j]

Lecture Outline:

Weeks Topic
1 Overview of the nervous system; basic neuroanatomy
2 Neurophysiology (cellular models;stochastic operation)
2 Overview of neural systems
2 Student presentations on nervous system measurement and stimulation
2 Operation, measurement and correction of visual system
2 Operation, measurement, and correction of auditory system
2 Operation, measurement, and correction of motor system
2 Student presentations on mock research proposals

Assessment Method:

none