Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, also called as DARPA aims to develop the world’s first neural device to help treat traumatic brain injuries. The device has been developed under the project named Restoring Active Memory program of the DARPA that has been charged with the development of next generation technologies for military use. The two teams that have been charged with the development of the implants of the device are the University of California, Los Angles and University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
There are hardly any treatments for diseases like Alzheimer, and various traumatic brain injuries that cause memory loss and disrupt the functioning of the brain. In such a situation, the device will serve as a gift to the people suffering from memory loss. About 270,000 military service members have been affected with this problem since 2000.
The device acts like a real time recording, using a closed loop stimulation of neurons to build the gaps in the injured brain and restore the previous information, along with individual’s ability to form new memories. According to the research done by the DARPA, it defines memory as the process in which the neurons lying in certain regions of the brain serve the purpose of encoding the information, and store or retrieve it as required.
Experiments suggest that deep brain stimulation involves use of implanted the electrodes whose aim is to deliver electrical signals to specific parts of the brain that finally resulted in successful treatment of chronic diseases. Due to these observations, the US military decided to develop the device for treating brain injuries.
There are several types of memory, but the RAM program aims to undertake or focuses on the declarative memory in which the process of recalling is involved. This may include information such as events or places, the device will be created keeping declarative memory as a paramount need. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a neural technological group will develop the neuromodulation system. This is an electronics system whose purpose will be to modulate neurons that search the areas of the brain linked to the memory, finding out how memories are formed.
The device will be implanted into the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus areas of the brain, allowing for stimulation and recording from 64 channels on the array of electrodes that will connect to the implanted electronics packages capable of wireless data. There will be an external electronic system that will be worn around the ear in which the associated digital information will be stored.
Even today, the devices used for restoring the memory are difficult to develop. The whole procedure of developing this device involves lot of scientific and technological challenges. The first step involved is that the researchers had to develop new devices and hardware in order to produce electrical signal and record wirelessly.
Secondly, a new computational model has to be developed that describes the brain circuits involved in memory formation. To interpret the flow and sense of neural signals, certain steps or algorithms are required that will tell the correct stimulation required in restoration of the memory.
After the device has been developed, it will be tested in clinical studies on humans and animals and will reviewed by the institutional review boards and the officials from the Department of Defense. Not only this, it will also require the approval from the Food and Drug Administration. The RAM program involves the development of this device with the blend of engineering and medical sciences.
Summary
US military has brought a great device that will serve as a healing gift to millions of people suffering from memory loss.
