Neuro Technology and Engineering
Technological advances at CMU are helping to advance our understanding of brain disorders and mental illnesses including, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, and depression. Making headway on these problems requires major technological innovations applied to reveal the basics of brain organization in health and disease states. CMU aims to fill that gap by developing and applying technologies emerging at the interfaces between engineering, biological sciences, computer science and psychology. Leveraging our world-class nanofabrication facility, experimental and computational resources, we develop multimodal neuro technologies with electrical, optical, ultrasonic and mechanical functionalities to interface with the brain across different scales of spatial and temporal resolution. This coming together of multiple fields of research is leading CMU scientists and engineers to a clearer understanding of what parts of the brain are engaged during what tasks; the creation of new devices to measure robust signals from the brain, and signal processing /data analysis so we extract the important signals from amidst “noise” are changing what is possible.
Research in Neuro Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University merges CMU's core strengths in device science and engineering, machine learning, artificial intelligence, photonics and microelectromechanical device design with our fundamental and applied neuroscience thrusts. This research benefits from synergistic interactions with our research partners such as BrainHub and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, as well as close collaborative ties with clinical institutions. Key focus areas within Neural Engineering include Brain-Computer Interfaces, Neural Modulation, and Neural Imaging. Research within Neural Engineering aims to design and implement next generation neural interfaces to address the needs in basic neuroscience to better understand brain function and dysfunction, and also to address clinical needs by designing new therapeutic interventions. Beyond basic science and medical applications, our neural engineering effort aims to develop next generation neural prostheses for designing next generation brain-machine interfaces, through developing novel technologies for recording, functional and structural imaging, and modulating the central and peripheral nervous systems. These include, but are not limited to, brain-computer interfaces for use in paralysis, neural stimulation device design for sensory and motor prostheses and basic science research, and neural recording and imaging devices ranging from the micro- to the macro- scale.
