Cognitive skills/capabilities are important for the military personnel to fulfill tasks and to ensure mission efficiency and success. In the past decade, there are abundant researches suggesting that non-invasive brain stimulation via transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) holds great promise to enhance a soldier's cognitive performances. Although models to predict the tDCS current flow exist, they need to be validated using a high-fidelity head phantom which can mimic both its complex shapes/configurations and the conductivities of various tissues. Such a phantom, however, is currently lacking. In this proposal, AlphaSense, Inc. collaborates with Harvard Medical School to develop a novel 3D- printed head phantom for tDCS model validation. If successful, the merits of the proposed head phantom and its fabrication method include the following: a) High accuracy for tDCS model validation, b) Fully automatic process for tDCS parameter optimization, c) Capable of generating both generic and subject-specific phantoms, d) Excellent long-term stability, and e) Low fabrication cost.
Benefits: The outcome of this research is coupled to a very clear commercialization path. The proposed head phantom can be used for both military and civilian applications. The most straightforward military application is to valid various tDCS models, based on which effective therapeutic treatment procedures can be obtained. Consequently, the cognitive performances and learning skills of soldiers and military personnel can be substantially improved to enable mission success. In addition to the cognitive performance enhancement, the tDCS model may also help the researchers to identify therapeutic treatment solutions for the veteran and active-duty solider depression issues. For civilian applications, the proposed phantom can also be used by medical researchers to identify optimum tDCS procedures to treat various medical conditions, including brain injuries, strokes, memory loss, and depression. It should be noted that the proposed 3D printing method is by no means limited to fabricate the phantoms for the tDCS model validation. If successful, it also provides a generic solution to fabricate a wide variety of medical phantoms, including brain, breast and heart phantoms, etc. for various training and surgical treatment planning applications. The potential market is huge for the above-mentioned medical phantoms.
Keywords: head phantom, transcranial direct current stimulation, model validation, fabrication, 3D printing
