CAREER: Soft Solutions for Spinal Cord Injury: Advancing with Injectable and Stretchable Hydrogel Electrodes

Spinal cord injuries affect millions of individuals worldwide, causing paralysis and dramatically reducing their quality of life. These injuries lead to significant long-term healthcare costs due to the challenges in restoring motor function. Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord has shown promise in restoring motor function.

However, current approaches often rely on rigid electrodes that cause additional tissue damage and require invasive spinal cord surgery, limiting their effectiveness and increasing infection risks. To overcome these limitations, this project aims to develop novel soft electrodes that mimic the properties of soft tissue. These electrodes will be designed to be minimally invasive, enabling precise activation of spinal cord neurons without the need for conventional spinal cord surgery.

Educational components of the project include establishment of a Neural Engineering Club for college students and development of hands-on activities and outreach programs for K-12 students that are designed to inspire enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) among students from diverse backgrounds. These efforts aim to broaden societal impact and foster the next generation of innovators in neural engineering, ultimately advancing research in this interdisciplinary field.

The research goal of this CAREER award is to develop injectable, stretchable hydrogel-based electrodes that offer superior biocompatibility, flexibility, and functional integration with spinal tissue. These electrodes will be designed to be injected through ultra-fine needles, enabling direct and stable motor neuron stimulation and sensory neuron recording.

This project will include three major research objectives: (1) Developing stretchable, biocompatible hydrogel materials with outstanding electrical performance for neural interfaces, focusing on understanding the interplay between biocompatibility, mechanical properties, electrical performance, and long-term stability.(2) Creating minimally invasive, surgery-free hydrogel intraspinal electrodes that ensure long-term stability within the challenging environment of the spinal cord, reducing the risks and discomfort associated with traditional surgical methods. (3) Pioneering in vivo spinal cord motor neuron stimulation and sensory neuron recording that will demonstrate the therapeutic potential of hydrogel-based electrodes for direct stimulation of motor neurons and integration of sensory information.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.