Hitachi chips in

Hitachi Computer Products Inc. of Norman recently donated equipment to University of Oklahoma scientists with no strings - or wires - attached that could lead to helping the blind see and the paralyzed move.

Hitachi gave OU’s Wireless Biological Sensor Group (WBSG) a mu chip evaluation kit so the scientists can study radio frequency chips. The package includes about 100 radio frequency identification chips and sample cards in which chips are embedded, along with a chip reader.

Mu chips store electronic numbers and are placed within products and documents. Chips are read like a bar code for identification, only they use a radio frequency of 2.45 GHz.

OU scientists will study the chips and try to adapt the technology for use in human tissue. The team’s long-term goal is to develop wireless neural probes - powered by radio frequency in this case - that lead to physical and sensory function.

“I’m very excited because very few devices are on this scale,” said Rob Rennaker, an assistant professor in mechanical engineering. “The mu chip is similar to the chip we’re developing and it’s about the same frequency. It’s a huge help for us in our initial research.

“One (chip) simply records brain activities,” Rennaker explained later, “and…if I put a bunch of these devices at a place that records right arm movement, I can track brain signals and predict where the arm will move. If we can record intended motion, we can use it to control a prosthesis device to do certain things, perhaps drive a car.”

The OU scientists already have a wired probe they’ve used on the auditory complex to see how the brain responds to different sounds. But the group aims to develop an implantable device without wires and batteries that lasts the life of the patient, which is why radio frequency technology is so intriguing.

Tamer Ibrahim, an assistant professor with expertise in electromagnetics, has started work on powering devices using radio frequencies. The team also has developed a prototype to study brain activity that’s nearly ready for animal testing.

A second-generation design is on the drawing board and circuitry is being laid out now. The stumbling block, Rennaker said, is securing funding. Winning research grants from state and national agencies always is competitive, and it’s even tougher because the OU group is only two years old and “most of us are new investigators.”

Those circumstances made the Hitachi donation even more vital.

“It makes a huge difference because we have some equipment we can use,” Ibrahim said. “Otherwise, we’d have to purchase these things and (funding) is the biggest issue we’re facing right now. A big donation can make a big impact on the research.”

Rennaker said the mu chip evaluation kit also will save time because OU’s scientists won’t have to develop a radio-frequency chip from scratch.

“What we’re doing with the Hitachi chip is investigating how much power we’ll have available and how much heating we’ll have in the biological material using the mu chip because it’s already RF-powered,” Rennaker said. “Our device isn’t RF-powered yet because we don’t know the specifications yet, so the Hitachi mu chip will allow us to determine those specifications.”

Modification, though, will be necessary for chips to work in human tissue, which is conductive. The OU group will try to keep the chip from getting too hot, as radio frequency does with microwave ovens. The group will test the chip’s effectiveness by putting it in saline gel that mimics human tissue.

The group is applying for a grant of $500,000 total cost a year that will help in getting a prototype chip developed and manufactured. Rennaker will speak to the Oklahoma Center for Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) this fall to tell other scientists about the OU group’s research.

The Wireless Biological Sensor Group is an interdisciplinary team comprising Rennaker (who specializes in bioengineering), Ibrahiam (electromagnetics), Pat Skubic (high-energy particles detection), Monty Tull (electrical engineering), Don Wilson (zoology and physiology) and David Miller (robotics and artificial intelligence).

“It’s a very challenging problem,” Ibrahim said of developing wireless biological sensors. “Designing the neural interface is something very difficult from my research point of view, which is electromagnetics. But the ultimate cause is big and the research to it is exciting, as well.”