Neurobotics

[Cybii]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hopefully I posted this question in the appropriate forum...

Recently I have been looking into neurobotics and the research regarding the development of mechanical prosthetics. From my understanding, this field is filled with different degrees (like biomedical engineering, computer science, etc)... but does anyone know how a medical doctor would be involved in this kind of field? If so, how? Would this kind of work require a residency in neuro or PM&R? What kind of fellowship (if any) would be appropriate?

Thanks! 🙂

 

[Head]

I'm currently doing a fellowship in brain computer interface research, so I can try to answer your question. I finished my Neurology residency training about a year ago.

I think the question is what aspect of this you are interested in. If you're more interested in the mechanical aspects of the prosthetics and making them work like a human limb, I suggest going for a degree in engineering and a PhD. As a physician, I'm much more interested in the neurophysiology and how to translate neural signals into something usable for an electronic device. I'm also interested in starting clinical trials with these devices.

Most of the folks involved in the brain computer interface field are PhD's. The cool thing about being an MD is that you can latch on to one of the labs and start doing translational research, i.e. take things proven to work in animal models and start a clinical trial in humans. Obviously much of the research in this field is quite invasive, so human studies are few and sometimes require a neurosurgeon.

You could get into this field either through Neurology or PM&R. You would likely have to pursue a research fellowship afterwards like I'm doing or do an MD/PhD. PM&R is probably a more direct route than Neurology. Personally I find the clinical practice of rehab medicine totally boring and that's why I chose Neurology instead. If you want to read about some folks doing research in this area, here are some suggestions:

Kuiken (Rehab doc from Northwestern, uses Nerve-Muscle grafts in upper arm to drive prosthetic limbs)
Schwartz (U Pitt)
Nicolelis (Duke)
Donohue (Brown)
Kennedy (Neurologist who started his own company, I think he's still loosely affiliated with Emory and G. Tech)
Anderson (Caltech)

Feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions.

 

[Cybii]

I'm currently doing a fellowship in brain computer interface research, so I can try to answer your question. I finished my Neurology residency training about a year ago.

I think the question is what aspect of this you are interested in. If you're more interested in the mechanical aspects of the prosthetics and making them work like a human limb, I suggest going for a degree in engineering and a PhD. As a physician, I'm much more interested in the neurophysiology and how to translate neural signals into something usable for an electronic device. I'm also interested in starting clinical trials with these devices.

Most of the folks involved in the brain computer interface field are PhD's. The cool thing about being an MD is that you can latch on to one of the labs and start doing translational research, i.e. take things proven to work in animal models and start a clinical trial in humans. Obviously much of the research in this field is quite invasive, so human studies are few and sometimes require a neurosurgeon.

You could get into this field either through Neurology or PM&R. You would likely have to pursue a research fellowship afterwards like I'm doing or do an MD/PhD. PM&R is probably a more direct route than Neurology. Personally I find the clinical practice of rehab medicine totally boring and that's why I chose Neurology instead. If you want to read about some folks doing research in this area, here are some suggestions:

Kuiken (Rehab doc from Northwestern, uses Nerve-Muscle grafts in upper arm to drive prosthetic limbs)
Schwartz (U Pitt)
Nicolelis (Duke)
Donohue (Brown)
Kennedy (Neurologist who started his own company, I think he's still loosely affiliated with Emory and G. Tech)
Anderson (Caltech)

Feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions.

Thank you so, so much for this information! I am going to read into some of the existing research and definitely will PM you in the [very near] future!! Thank you!

 

[typhoonegator]

You might also want to look at Harvard/MIT. There is a lot of collaboration between the computer/engineering folks at MIT and neuro researchers at MGH. Cash and Hochberg come to mind. Hochberg had a cover article in Nature a few years ago on brain-computer interfaces.