December 2016

Presidents Award for Excellence in Research Supervision

Dr Timothy Constandinou receives the President’s Award for Excellence in Research Supervision. The award celebrates and acknowledges staff who are considered to have made an outstanding contribution towards a supportive environment.  

October 2016

IEEE Biomedical Circuits & Systems (BioCAS) Conference

Adrien Rapeaux, Timo Lauteslager, Zach Frehlick, Laszlo Grand, , Yan Liu, and Timothy Constandinou (together with other members of the Centre for Bio-Inspired Technology) attend and present their work at the 2016 IEEE BioCAS Conference in Shanghai, China from 17-19 October 2016. Papers presented by the Next Generation Neural Interfaces Lab include:

• Luan S, Liu Y, Williams, I, Constandinou, TG, An Event-Driven SoC for Neural Recording
• Frehlick Z, Williams I, Constandinou TG, Improving Neural Spike Sorting Performance Using Template Enhancement
• Leene L, Constandinou TG, A 2.7uW/Mips, 0.88GOPS/mm^2 Distributed Processor for Implantable Brain Machine Interfaces
• Ramezani R, Dehkhoda F, Soltan A, Degenaar P, Liu Y, Constandinou TG, An optrode with built-in self-diagnostic and fracture sensor for cortical brain stimulation
• Williams I, Rapeaux A, Liu Y, Luan S, Constandinou TG, A 32-Channel Bidirectional Neural/EMG Interface with on-Chip Spike Detection for Sensorimotor Feedback
• Lauteslager T, Tommer M, Kjelgard KG, Lande TS, Constandinou TG, Intracranial Heart Rate Detection Using UWB Radar (received the best paper award)

1ST IEEE BRAINCAS WORKSHOP

Several members (see above) of the Next Generation Neural Interfaces Lab participate in the 1st IEEE BrainCAS Workshop in Hangzhou, China from 20-21 October 2016.

July 2016

FENS Forum of Neuroscience

Ian Williams, Nicoletta Nicolaou and Timothy Constandinou (together with other members of the Centre for Bio-Inspired Technology) attend and present their work at the 2016 Forum of Neuroscience in Copenhagen, Denmark from 2-6 July 2016. Papers presented by the Next Generation Neural Interfaces Lab include:

• Luan S, Williams I, Carvalho F, Jackson A, Quiroga RQ, Constandinou TG, Next Generation Neural Interfaces for low-power multichannel spike sorting (including a live demonstration of the platform - see Figure)
• Nicolaou N, Constandinou TG, Phase-Amplitude Coupling during propofol-induced sedation: an exploratory approach

May 2016

BRAIN Forum

Timo Lauteslager, Dorian Haci and Federico Mazza attend the 2016 Brain Forum from 26-27 May 2016 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

IEEE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON CIRCUITS & SYSTEMS

, Deren Barsakcioglu and Timothy Constandinou (together with other members of the Centre for Bio-Inspired Technology) attend and present their work at the 2016 IEEE ISCAS Conference in Montreal, Canada from 22-26 May 2016. Papers presented by the Next Generation Neural Interfaces Lab include:

• Barsakcioglu DY, Constandinou TG, A 32-Channel MCU-Based Feature Extraction and Classification for Scalable on-Node Spike Sorting
• Elia M, Leene L, Constandinou TG, Continuous-Time Micropower Interface for Neural Recording Applications
• Liu Y, Pereira J, Constandinou TG, Clockless Continuous-Time Neural Spike Sorting: Method, Implementation and Evaluation

February 2016

Radar body sensing

On February 29, NGNI members Nicoletta Nicolaou and Timo Lauteslager attended a seminar on Radar body sensing at The University of Oslo. This hands-on technical event was aimed at coordinating efforts on brain-imaging using radar technology between main partners Imperial College London, University of Oslo and the company Novelda. Besides the exchange of ideas and presentation of experimental results, Novelda presented an updated version of the ultra-wideband impulse radar module. With increased power and reduced noise, we are now more confident that functional neuroimaging lies within reach.

SPIE Photonics West 2016

Francesca Troiani attended and presented her work at the 2016 SPIE BIOS Conference in San Francisco, USA from 13-18 February 2016:

• Troiani F, Nikolic K, Constandinou TG, Optical Coherence Tomography for detection of compound action potential in Xenopus Laevis sciatic nerve

January 2016

ANAEWARE CLINICAL TRIALS SITE ADDITION

The AnaeWARE clinical trials have been extended to Chelsea & Westminster Hospital and the study will be open for recruitment in February. Together with our collaborator, Dr. Marcela Vizcaychipi, we plan to continue our investigations on the effect of anaesthetics, with emphasis on the cardiovascular system. The two study sites offer complementary anaesthetic protocols and patient samples.

December 2015

IEEE BRAIN INITIATIVE

Timothy Constandinou attended and represented the IEEE Circuits & Systems (CAS) Society at the 1st IEEE BRAIN Initiative Workshop at Columbia University, New York on 14th December 2015. He presented the technical activities and some research highlights of IEEE CAS Society members relevant to IEEE BRAIN. For more details see the following IEEE article.

The IEEE BRAIN Initiative was formed last year with a mission to create workshops, develop standards, and interact with industry, governments, and academia to leverage the expertise of IEEE in order to advance world-wide efforts in brain research and neurotechnology development.

November 2015

SCIENCE MUSEUM CREATIVE QUARTER

Lorena Freitas, Dorian Haci,  Timo Lauteslager, Adrien Rapeaux and Nicoletta Nicolaou talk about their work in Brain Machine Interfaces at the Creative Quarter event on 13 November 2016 at the Science Museum. 

This event was aimed at giving 13-19 year olds access to some of the latest developments in the creative industries, and to provide an overview of different education and career pathways young people can follow.

October 2015

IEEE BIOMEDICAL CIRCUITS & SYSTEMS (BIOCAS) CONFERENCE

Timo Lauteslager, Song Luan, Ian Williams, Yan Liu, Nicoletta Nicolaou and Timothy Constandinou (together with other members of the Centre for Bio-Inspired Technology) attend and present their work at the 2015 IEEE BioCAS Conference in Atlanta, US from 22-24 October 2016. Paper(s) presented by the Next Generation Neural Interfaces Lab include:

• Williams I, Luan S, Jackson A, Constandinou TG,  "A Scalable 32 Channel Neural Recording and Real-time FPGA Based Spike Sorting System". For further details see iPROBE project and resources pages.
• Lauteslager T, Nicolaou N, Lande TS, Constandinou TG, "Functional neuroimaging Using UWB Impulse Radar: a Feasibility Study". For further details see: UWB-IR functional neuroimaging project page.
• Zhao H, Dehkhoda F, Ramezani R, Sokolov D, Constandinou TG, Liu Y, Degenaar P, "A CMOS-Based Neural Implantable Optrode for Optogenetic Stimulation and Electrical Recording". For further details see CANDO project page and CANDO website.
  

August 2015

EPSRC FELLOWSHIP "ENGINI" BEGINS

After over a year of planning, Timothy Constandinou's 5-year/£1m, EPSRC Early Career Fellowship entitled "Empowering Next Generation Implantable Neural Interfaces" formally began on 1 August 2016. Katarzyna Szostak also joins the team bringing key expertise in microengineering. Over the next year we will be recruiting to complete the team. For further details see: Imperial News item, Fellowship site, EPSRC page.

37TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY (EMBS)

Adrien Rapeaux and Stephen Woods attend and present their work at the 2015 IEEE EMBS Conference in Milan, Italy from 25-29 August 2015. Paper(s) presented by the Next Generation Neural Interfaces Lab include:

• Rapeaux A, Nikolic K, Williams I, Eftekhar A, Constandinou TG, "Fiber size-selective stimulation using action potential filtering for a peripheral nerve interface: a simulation study". For further details see SenseBack project page and SenseBack website.
• Woods S, Constandinou TG, "A novel holding mechanism for next generation active wireless capsule endoscopy"

June 2015

ANAEWARE CLINICAL TRIALS BEGIN

The AnaeWARE study opens for recruitment at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (Hammersmith Hospital). Eligible adult patients scheduled for elective surgery are invited to participate. The study focuses on identifying how anaesthetics affect the body by investigating changes in the relationships between different signals that are routinely monitored during surgery, with the addition of electrical brain activity (EEG) collected via a commercially available system. Patient participation involves giving us permission to record and store these signals in an anonymous database, and to analyse these signals offline. We are hoping that the data collected during this clinical trial will allow us to further characterise the action of anaesthetics on the body as a whole and identify “signatures” of loss /recovery of awareness that could potentially allow us to even predict the onset of awareness in a patient.

For more details see the AnaeWARE project page.

May 2015

IEEE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON CIRCUITS & SYSTEMS

, Dorian Haci, Adrien Rapeaux and Timothy Constandinou attend and present their work at the 2015 IEEE ISCAS Conference in Lisbon, Portugal from 24-27 May 2015. Paper(s) presented by the Next Generation Neural Interfaces Lab include:

• Faliagkas K, Leene L, Constandinou TG, "A Novel Neural Recording System Utilising Continuous Time Energy Based Compression". For further details see: Next Generation Neural Interfaces project page.

SENSEBACK BEGINS

SenseBack formally began on 1 May 2015. SenseBack is a multi-site, cross-disciplinary project to develop enabling technologies to restore sensory feedback in assistive devices, such as prosthetic hands. This three year, £1.44M IDEAS Factory project, is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). SenseBack is led by Newcastle University and involves experts from the universities of Leeds, Essex, Keele, Southampton and our team at Imperial College London.

April 2015

New Next Generation Neural Interfaces website went live on 24 April 2015: www.imperial.ac.uk/neural-interfaces

March 2015

SCIENCE MUSEUM FESTIVAL "YOU HAVE BEEN UPGRADED"

Ian Williams, Deren Barsakcioglu and Timothy Constandinou participated in the 4-day Science Museum Festival from 25-29 March 2015 entitled "You have been upgraded" on the theme of human enhancement, showcasing our latest brain machine interfaces and implantable devices. For further details see Science Museum page.

BRAIN FORUM

Francesca Troiani,  and Timothy Constandinou attended the Brain Forum from 30-31 March 2015 in Lausanne, Switzerland.