NSF Award
1243464
1243464<br/>Victor Pikov<br/><br/>The ICNPD-2012 conference will bring together international investigators of all levels to<br/>Freiburg, Germany to discuss recent research findings and to establish new collaborations in the new and exciting field of neural prosthetic devices. The conference will take place on November 19-20, 2012 at the University of Freiburg, Germany. It will be preceded by a series of online discussions by the Scientific Advisory Committee, resulting in selection of several key innovation challenges that will be addressed at the conference. Main support for the conference will be provided by the University of Freiburg, commercial sponsors and exhibitors, and the conference registration fees, with the proposed supplementary support for the United States-based speakers by the National Science Foundation. This proposal aims to expand the participation of junior US researchers at the conference by subsidizing their travel costs.<br/>The overall conference theme will be the technological and scientific challenges for translating neural prosthetics into clinical use. There are multiple research groups worldwide involved in development and evaluation of neuroprosthetic implants for a variety of neurological disorders, and similar difficulties often arise in selecting biocompatible encapsulation materials, in applying modern wireless communication technology, in better understanding of clinical and user needs, etc. Several discussion panels will be held at the conference to stimulate the interaction of participants in seeking solutions for the identified challenges, rather than simply reporting on the progress from their laboratories. Additional emphasis at the conference will be placed on identifying the areas of possible collaborations between the US and European scientists and finding the mechanisms for jump-starting these collaborations. The online resources, including the poster abstract review system and the blog, will operate at the conference website<br/>(www.neurotechzone.com) to promote the worldwide dialog among the participants prior to the conference.<br/><br/>Intellectual Merit<br/><br/>The ICNPD-2012 conference will be convened for the fourth time, following the first three meetings in Hsinchu, Taiwan in 2009, in Beijing, China in 2010, and in Sydney, Australia in 2011. Foundation of the series of international conferences on neuroprosthetic devices was necessitated by an explosive growth of this discipline in the international research arena.<br/><br/>The ICNPD conferences have already attracted a significant number of participants and demonstrated the need and will of scientists throughout the world to combine their voices in discussing the existing challenges and future direction of the discipline, and particularly, the development of global standards on fabrication of the neuroprosthetic probes and their data and power telemetry. One of the accomplishments of the ICNPD conferences was the formation of the Alliance for Innovations in Neural Technology, which includes many renowned experts as its founding members.<br/><br/>Another accomplishment was a publication of a special issue of the Frontiers in Neuroscience with five full-length articles (http://www.frontiersin.org/Neuroprosthetics/researchtopics/Neuroprosthetic_devices/56)<br/>as well as an online publication and DOI registration of all conference abstracts at a searchable neuroscience-related depository, the Frontiers Conferences (http://www.frontiersin.org/Community/EventDetails.aspx?eid Several important topics for discussion have emerged during the conferences, ranging from the governmental oversight and support of the clinical trials of the neuroprosthetic devices to a lack of dedicated international journal. The ICNPD-2012 conference will continue the exploration of key technological and biological challenges and breakthrough innovations that can overcome them. There are multiple opportunities for the researchers to initiate productive collaborative projects in the development and testing of devices for the hearing and vision loss, muscle paralysis, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, and other neurological disorders. The conference described in this proposal is one that will bring together established investigators and early-career researchers just entering this field. To enable a focused exchange at the discussion panels during the two-day meeting, there will be a series of brainstorming online discussions preceding the conference.<br/><br/>Broader Impact Statement<br/><br/>The conference can inform the NSF and other US federal agencies about new developments in the rapidly growing neural prosthetics field. A specific goal of the NSF that will be aided by the conference is the establishment of new programs which emphasize integration of neural technology research and medical device industry. The conference will provide a good opportunity to highlight best practices in this area and to bring lessons from this experience to the NSF initiatives. The conference participants will be selected to represent a broad spectrum of interested participants from academia, national laboratories, government, and industry. Recruitment of participants representing researchers at all stages in their careers from well established to new researchers just starting their career will be actively pursued. A special effort will be made to increase the representation of women and underrepresented minorities at the conference. The conference program, poster abstracts, and talk abstracts will be permanently posted on the conference website (www.neurotechzone.com) as well as on the Frontiers Conferences, a premier online depository for the conference proceedings in the neuroscience-related fields (http://www.frontiersin.org/events/all_events) to serve as a practical educational tool.
