When Charlotte Boccara and Florian Dapsance applied for seed funding from the UiO Growth House spring 2024 call, the aim was to get the resources needed to start the pilot project FlexBrain to manufacture self-developed implants to measure brain activity. They need these devices to do more advanced brain research than what is possible today.
Using implants to measure brain activity during sleep and cognitive function
The importance of sleep for healthy cognitive development is the main topic of the research group of Charlotte Boccara at the Norwegian Centre for Molecular Bioscience and Medicine Norway (NCMBM)*. The group puts particular emphasis on studying the phases of development where the brain goes through most changes i.e. during infancy and adolescence.
The group uses implants to measure the electric activity from individual neurons in the brains of rodents. The measurements allow the researchers to estimate which sleep phase the animal is in, establishing which regions of the brain are communicating with each other, to gain understanding of how the brain matures
– There are nice studies on the importance of sleep in humans, for example studying how the quality of sleep, including the lack of sleep, in school kids, influence their performance or contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders, but all this evidence is correlative, and we don't have much causal evidence, says Charlotte Boccara.
Developing new, miniaturised wireless devices that are less invasive than today's implants is essential to addressing this challenge and enabling the manipulation of sleep together with the recording of multiple physiological readouts in young animals.
The FlexBrain project specifically tackles the issue of traditional brain implants being too rigid, which leads to local damage and inflammation.
From rigid and invasive silicon implants…
– Today we typically use silicon material on which there are metal electrodes. Silicon is very stiff in comparison with brain tissue, and natural micro motions of the implanted device create lesions that sustain the initial immune response caused by the surgical implantation. Immune response means inflammation via the accumulation of cells around the implant; over time this may cause the device to malfunction, or even to stop working, says Florian Dapsance.
Boccara adds that long-term functionality and minimal immune response are crucial, which is why the implants that are currently available are not suitable to address their research questions fully. The group needs access to devices which allow them to measure signals over extended periods and across development. The same would apply to potential clinical use in humans.
… to flexible, biocompatible and less invasive implants
In the FlexBrain project, Boccara and Dapsance are developing implants that minimise tissue damage by using materials that are more biocompatible and flexible.
Such implants are not yet commercially available, but research on flexible bioelectronic devices is growing. Unlike stiff silicon, more flexible plastics and polymers help reduce brain tissue damage. These materials are durable, biologically safe, and already tested in several studies. Notably, one of the team’s polymer candidates is FDA-approved for use in humans, showing promise for long-term use with minimal immune response.
– Our project will demonstrate how the new devices can be used, in which configuration and for which purposes. Our protypes can be used in very young rodents corresponding to a newborn human brain, which is truly novel in our research field, says Charlotte Boccara.
Prior to undertaking tests in rodents, Boccara and Dapsance carried out in vitro lab experiments to assess the properties of the devices in solutions, gels, cell culture and tissue.
– By doing these experiments, we can investigate the biocompatibility of the devices and their effect on the immune response. We are also ensuring that our recordings provide meaningful physiological insights, says Florian Dapsance.
– In-house manufacturing allows us to fine-tune the implant's mechanical and chemical properties to make sure it is robust and long-lasting, he adds.
With this UiO Growth House-funded pilot project, they aim to have a proof of concept demonstrating that their flexible, less invasive implants can reliably record physiological signals over long periods, paving the way for further external funding.
Ambitious questions require multidisciplinary approaches and new tools
Answering big questions requires new tools and diverse expertise. Boccara’s team, collaborating across the University of Oslo (UiO) and SINTEF with funding from the Research Council of Norway and the EU, brings together experts from physics, medicine, biology, engineering, and more.
By developing the tools they need for neuroscience research, they not only advance their own work, but also create technologies that could benefit others. Their goal is to give UiO a technical edge, with the potential for patents, commercialisation, or open-source sharing in the future.
The value of the UiO Growth House innovation services
The NOK 200 000 seed funding from the UiO Growth House spring 2024 was crucial for Boccara and Dapsance to start the FlexBrain project. Without this support, their testing would have been limited to the scope of the SmartSense project, funded by the Research Council, which investigates the connection between sleep and metabolic disorders like diabetes.
Also, the UiO Growth House has connected the team with others in the innovation ecosystem who have experience in sensor fabrication and how to deal with the immune response issues.
Additionally, Boccara's involvement with the UiO Growth House and participation in the Aleap Bootcamp** last year have prompted them to consider intellectual property (IP) as a way to secure the rights to their developments.
_____
* The Norwegian Centre for Molecular Biosciences and Medicine (NCMBM) conducts cutting-edge research at the intersection of molecular medicine, biosciences, and data science to advance the understanding of fundamental processes in life sciences. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and state-of-the-art technologies, the centre investigates intricate cellular mechanisms driving biological systems in health and disease. As part of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, NCMBM closely align with EMBL’s strategy, fostering innovation and impactful discoveries with the life sciences.
**Aleap Bootcamp: the UiO Growth House has, together with the technology transfer office of the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, Inven2, been partner at the health incubator Aleap's bootcamp for innovation projects and start-up companies. Here the participants learn about the path from idea to market with topics within value proposition development, regulatory process and intellectual property strategy, fundraising, organizational governance and pitching.