EMvelop stimulation: minimally invasive deep brain stimulation using temporally interfering electromagnetic waves.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Electromagnetics

Background:

• Temporal Interference Stimulation (TIS) offers focal noninvasive deep brain stimulation (DBS) but requires improved stimulation strength.
• Existing methods face challenges with signal attenuation and focality in deep brain regions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate EMvelop stimulation, a novel minimally invasive DBS technique using temporally interfering gigahertz (GHz) electromagnetic (EM) waves.
• To explore the potential of GHz EM waves for enhanced intensity and focality in deep brain stimulation.

Main Methods:

• Development of a simulation framework to model GHz EM wave propagation and heat generation in brain tissue.
• Proposal of optimization flows for antenna current amplitudes and phases to maximize intensity or focality under safety constraints.

Main Results:

• Achieved stimulation intensity of 12 V/m with a focality of 3.6 cm at a deep brain target using two endocranially implanted antenna arrays (4.2 cm x 4.7 cm each).
• Demonstrated the feasibility of optimizing EM wave parameters for targeted deep brain stimulation.

Conclusions:

• EMvelop stimulation presents a promising minimally invasive approach for deep brain stimulation.
• This technique offers potential advantages over existing electrical and magnetic stimulation methods for deep brain targets.