Remus: System for remote deep brain interventions

Taylor D Webb; Matthew G Wilson; Henrik Odéen; Jan Kubanek

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.105251

Remus: System for remote deep brain interventions

iScience. 2022 Oct 8;25(11):105251. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105251. eCollection 2022 Nov 18.

Authors

Taylor D Webb¹, Matthew G Wilson¹, Henrik Odéen², Jan Kubanek¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
² Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Abstract

Transcranial-focused ultrasound brings personalized medicine to the human brain. Ultrasound can modulate neural activity or release drugs in specific neural circuits but this personalized approach requires a system that delivers ultrasound into specified targets flexibly and on command. We developed a remote ultrasound system (Remus) that programmatically targets deep brain regions with high spatiotemporal precision and in a multi-focal manner. We validated these functions by modulating two deep brain nuclei-the left and right lateral geniculate nucleus-in a task-performing nonhuman primate. This flexible system will enable researchers and clinicians to diagnose and treat specific deep brain circuits in a noninvasive yet targeted manner, thus embodying the promise of personalized treatments of brain disorders.

Keywords: Animal biotechnology; Biodevices; Biological sciences; Biotechnology.