Over the past years it has been proven that Deep-Brain Stimulation (DBS) has medical benifits for neurological disorders, such as essential tremor, Parkinson's disease. Apart from DBS, Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) is a potential therapeutic technique for multiple clinical applications, such as epilepsy, supra-ventricular arrhytmias and heart failure. Every patient has a unique set of neural signal parameters (amplitudes, pulse-widths and repetition rate). With an open-loop DBS / open-loop VNS, a post-surgery process is necessary to adjust them. On the contrary, closed-loop DBS / VNS can ease this post-surgery process. As shown in the figure, sensory electrodes and Analog Front End (AFE) is used to record the neural signals and are then DSP processed to extract the signal parameters necessary to control the stimulation system.

We at IIC are involved in the optimization of AFEs and stimulation systems, making them more configurable and adaptable for multiple needs. It doesn't end here, we have an ongoing research to enhance the onchip DSP capabilities.