Key Points
- The research team led by Hong Chen, PhD, has developed a wearable, noninvasive, 3D printed neuromodulation device.
- Their technology, called AhSonogenetics, was tested preclinically, and the results were published in PNAS.
The research team from Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) led by Hong Chen, PhD, designed, built, and tested a wearable, noninvasive, 3D printed neuromodulation device that uses ultrasound to modulate sonogenetically engineered neuron groups in specific subregions of the brain. Their preclinical work was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The group is calling the novel combined technology “AhSonogenetics,” which is derived from Airy-beam holographic sonogenetics. It is an implant-free, cell type–specific, spatially precise, and flexible device that is manufactured on 3D-printed Airy-beam holographic metasurfaces. AhSonogenetics can modulate either the left or the right side of the brain or generate double foci for bilateral neuromodulation. It has thus far been tested in freely moving mice.
The WUSTL team shared the following benefits of this technology:
- AhSonogenetics can target neuronal populations within specific subregions of the striatum by dynamically steering the focus of the Airy beam.
- The device offers flexibility in performing unilateral stimulation of either the left or right striatum by simply switching the acoustic metasurface. The Airy-beam holographic metasurface can also generate double foci for bilateral stimulation.
- Since ultrasound does not interfere with light, AhSonogenetics can be integrated with in vivo calcium recording via fiber photometry.
- In preclinical experiments, the technique improved motor deficits in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease.
“By enabling precise and flexible cell-type-specific neuromodulation without invasive procedures, AhSonogenetics provides a powerful tool for investigating intact neural circuits and offers promising interventions for neurological disorders,” said Dr. Chen in the press release.