# Wireless Sensors for Functional MRI of Brain Seizures

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2020 · $172,768

## Abstract

Project Summary
The central aim of this NIH K01 mentored research project is the development of a new type of wireless
microelectronic sensors for direct functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of brain seizures. fMRI has
emerged in the past two decades as a prominent tool for noninvasive diagnosis and monitoring of
neuropathological disorders and brain injury. However, it relies on blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD)
signal, which is mainly of neurovascular origin and is a fundamentally indirect manifestation of neural activity.
This precludes the distinction between inhibitory and excitatory neural activity, risking false positives and false
negatives in the diagnosis and monitoring of brain seizures. In this project, the mentored investigator will
combine his expertise in microelectronic probes for the recording of neural activity, and combine them with
neuroimaging capabilities of the host institution, to develop wireless MRI sensors to uniquely and specifically
address questions of temporal and cross-regional manifestations of pathological brain patterns in rodent
models of epilepsy. This new form of brain imaging will allow for the acquisition of direct readouts of seizures
using MRI, employing its three-dimensional encoding capabilities to study abnormal firing patterns and neural
dysfunction across the brain. The research proposed here represents an initial step in a new and innovative
field for neuroscience and neurological research for the treatment of brain diseases. The novel methods
propose here by the mentored scientist will be broadly applicable to problems in neurobiology, and will
transform the ability of neuroscientists to study integrative functions of the brain in neuropathological disorders.
The approach will also help to establish a new path in diagnostic medicine whereby responsive microfabricated
active devices drive the change in MRI contrast similarly to conventional chemical contrast agents, and can
report on aspects of cellular physiology for functional MRI. Aviad Hai, PhD, will serve as principal investigator
for this project. Dr. Hai is a neurobiological engineer that focuses on the development and application of novel
sensors for neuroimaging and brain recording.. Dr. Hai has made several key contributions in the development
of new diagnostic imaging agents for studying physiological processes in the brain using MRI in rodents, as
well as the development nano-engineered probes for recording and stimulation of brain activity. His extensive
expertise and published contributions in both the microelectronic engineering and imaging portions of the
project put him at a natural position of leading this highly multidisciplinary mentored project. Dr. Hai will direct
efforts of microelectronic fabrication, in-vitro and in-vivo validation in animals, all of which are within his
expertise.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10002216
- **Project number:** 5K01EB027184-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Aviad Hai
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $172,768
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2021-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10002216

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10002216, Wireless Sensors for Functional MRI of Brain Seizures (5K01EB027184-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10002216. Licensed CC0.

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