Research Overview

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Cameron McIntyre seated next to a holographic brain model while holding a Hololens 2 augmented reality headset.

Our research program is focused on deep brain stimulation (DBS) and the design of novel techniques to improve its clinical application. Our primary research methods rely on coupling computational modeling with experimental measurement in human subjects implanted with neuromodulation technology. We pioneered the concept of patient-specific DBS modeling and made our most important scientific contributions by blending finite element electric field models of DBS with high resolution MRI data. This led to the creation of academic software technologies for modeling the effects of DBS on individual patients, which are now commonly available commercial clinical tools. Our current research efforts focus on evolving that translational pipeline with the integration of biophysical details on the neural response to DBS with anatomically accurate representations of the axonal connections in the human brain (i.e. “Connectomic DBS”). In addition to electrical stimulation modeling, the laboratory also maintains an active research effort studying the biophysics of neural signals recorded by electrodes implanted in the brain.