2016 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Electrical TFT platform for fundamental understanding of neuromuscular communication in the aim of neuroprosthesis.
| Project/Area Number |
16H04344
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
ティクシェ三田 アニエス 東京大学, 先端科学技術研究センター, 准教授 (00334368)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
池内 与志穂 東京大学, 生産技術研究所, 講師 (30740097)
年吉 洋 東京大学, 先端科学技術研究センター, 教授 (50282603)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
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| Keywords | Bio-sensor / Integrated Device / Thin-Film-Transistor / Bio-Neural Network / Neuroprosthesis |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The purpose of this project is to develop an electrical platform, based on the Thin-Film-Transistor (TFT) glass substrate of TFT/LCD displays, for fundamental understanding of biological cells interactions. The aim of the platform is to mimic in vivo environment to develop biomedical solutions for neuroprosthesis.
This platform would gather the possibility of electrical stimulation and sensing of biological cells, and optical studies for comparison with artificial biomimetic neural systems. Muscle cells/motor neurons versus muscle cells/artificial biomimetic neural network is the system taken as an application, for further understanding of ALS disease.
During FY2016, 4 aspects of the project were developed separatly: ① preparation of the TFT substrates, ② micro-fluidic circuitry, ③ culture of motor neurons on the TFT substrates, and ④ design of an artificial neural network.
① A dedicated circuit board was designed and fabricated with possibility of an easy connection with external electrical apparatus. In addition an Arduino card was fabricated to allow the individual control of the thousands of the electrical elements of the TFT substrate, through a computer. ② Microchambers and micro-fluidic circuitry were designed and fabricated in PDMS polymer to allow cells culture and medium confinement and flow. ③ A protocol to culture motor neuron cells, compatible with TFT devices was developed. ④ An artificial neural network was designed, and imitates the neurons activity signal. It will be applied to the cultured neurons of ③ through the circuit board of ①.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
1: Research has progressed more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The different collaborators of this project have conducted successfully the research plan proposed in the Kakenhi application. In particular, the current status of the project is the following:
① A circuit board dedicated to the TFT substrate and controlled by the Arduino card is now under test. It shows promising results of possibility of 2D control of the array of the electrical elements on the TFT substrate. The control card will be a key element during the research in FY2017, and will serve as an interface with external stimulation signals to excite locally neurons in culture on the TFT substrate and to follow in 2D the activity of stimulated neurons.
② and ③ Culture of motor neurons on the platform and in microfluidic chambers is a successful weekly process. Experiments on skeletal muscle cells culture were however not conducted, due to some difficulty for the moment to combine the culture of two cells types on a same substrate. Muscle culture is expected to be performed at the end of FY2017, or during FY2018.
④ Preliminary experiments of single neuron excitation, in a culture on a TFT substrate, with a simple square wave signal were conducted successfully, before trials with an artificial neural excitation. Activity sensing at the level of only one electrical element of the TFT substrate connected to the dedicated circuit board showed good results which will be published in FY2017.
During FY2016, other publications presenting preliminary results of this project were presented to conferences and journals.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The objective of the FY2017 is to gather the different aspects of the platform which were developed separately and in parallel during FY2016, to create a more complete platform. The purpose is to develop two semi-complete platforms, dedicated to the following: one for ⑤ electrical stimulations applications, the other one for ⑥ electrical sensing applications.
The development of these two semi-complete platforms is performed progressively with series of optical tests for verification and certification of the results.
[First semi-platform: ⑤ Electrical stimulation semi-platform.]: The purpose here is to investigate the “dialogue” between an excitation source and motor neuron cells cultured on the substrate. Three types of excitation sources are proposed: biological ones with other neuron cells, which are used as reference; basic square waves signals with a pulse generator, mainly used for basic tests of excitation; and artificial ones with a CPG to mimic the biological signals. For this reason, the artificial biomimetic neural network and its interface with the TFT device are the key-points of the realization Results will be applied later to the muscle cells / motor neuron cells system.
[Second semi-platform: ⑥ Electrical sensing semi-platform.]: The purpose here is to investigate the possibility to follow the activity of neuron cells, with a TFT substrate. The authors have already shown that neuron activity could be sensed by one TFT. A set-up with 2D scanning possibility of the whole surface of the platform, to detect the activity of cultured neurons will be developed.
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[Presentation] MEMS on TFT2016
Author(s)
Hiroshi Toshiyoshi, Satoshi Ihida, and Agnes Tixier-Mita
Organizer
2016 International Conference on Optical MEMS and Nanophotonics (OMN 2016)
Place of Presentation
Singapore
Year and Date
2016-07-31 – 2016-08-04
Int'l Joint Research / Invited
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