Research project

INTENSE - Innovative NeuroTEchNology for SociEty

In the field of neurotechnology, the connection is made between advances in the understanding of brain function and technological possibilities to write to and read from the brain. Due to a recent surge in technological possibilities to connect to the brain, the potential of brain-machine interfaces is increasing rapidly allowing to open doors of people with impairments such as blindness and deafness. The NOW-crossover project “INTENSE”(Innovative Neuro TEchNology for SociEty) links digital technology to the nervous system to restore functionality.

This is a very challenging problem, requiring a large bandwidth and low power consumption in a scenario where one of the two nodes is embedded in high permittivity and highly lossy materials. In addition to that, applications demand multiple locations that need to establish separate wireless links. Specialized engineering research into models, validation methods, approaches, and design techniques is mandatory to enable this functionality. In this project, we target these needs by investigating new antenna-array setups and dynamic optimization approaches, medium optimization and application of meta-materials as well as parasitic resonators.

A healthy population and excellence in healthcare through research and education is what the Center for Care & Cure Technologies Eindhoven stands for. Conducting groundbreaking work, pushing boundaries and leading the way in research, education, and healthcare. We are practical people with a high level of expertise, working hard in collaborative settings to renew healthcare of today and public health of tomorrow.

The work will be carried out in the Electromagnetics for Care & Cure lab of the Electromagnetics group that conducts, amongst others, neurotechnology and in/on body communication research. The Electromagnetics group of TU/e also contains the Integrated Antenna Systems group, part of the Center for Wireless Technologies, which conducts applied research into wireless communication and sensing technologies. The research fits within the NeuroTechNL consortium, in which brain interfacing and the various applications will be studied. Hence, this project provides the opportunity to work at the edge of neuro- and communication-technology in a dynamic, challenging, multi-disciplinary and cooperative research environment.