Funded Projects

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Project # Project Title Research Focus Area Research Program Administering IC Institution(s) Investigator(s) Location(s) Year Awarded
1UH3NS115631-01
Multisite adaptive brain stimulation for multidimensional treatment of refractory chronic pain Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management Translating Discoveries into Effective Devices to Treat Pain NINDS UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO SHIRVALKAR, PRASAD San Francisco, CA 2019
NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Clinical Devices to Treat Pain (UH3 Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-19-018
Summary:

The research team will develop stimulation control algorithms to treat chronic pain using a novel device that allows longitudinal intracranial signal recording in an ambulatory setting. Subjects with refractory chronic pain syndromes will undergo bilateral surgical implant of temporary electrodes in the thalamus, anterior cingulate, prefrontal cortex, insula, and amygdala to identify candidate biomarkers of pain and optimal stimulation parameters. Six patients will proceed to chronic implantation of “optimal” brain regions for long-term recording and stimulation. The team will first validate biomarkers of low- and high-pain states to define neural signals for pain prediction in individuals. They will then use these pain biomarkers to develop personalized closed-loop algorithms for deep-brain stimulation (DBS) and test the feasibility of closed-loop DBS for chronic pain in weekly blocks. Researchers will assess the efficacy of closed-loop DBS algorithms against traditional open-loop DBS or sham in a double-blinded cross-over trial and measure mechanisms of DBS tolerance.