Eugenio Culurciello - US grants

This proposal focuses on the use of biomimetic image sensors for an image sensor network. Custom image sensors will provide a reduced visual representation and enable the sensor network to interpret behavior and activity in an indoor setting. The research emphasis is to 1) parse out sensor observations into a set of distinguishable actions that can be understood by machines, 2) preserve privacy by extracting data from a scene without acquiring images and by making image reconstruction difficult for perpetrators, 3) provide ultra-low power components and a lightweight sensor network of images that operates using symbolic information over low bandwidth wireless links.

Intellectual Merit: The research enables image parsing and interpretation on sensor networks. A new generation of probabilistic detection algorithms that operate on prioritized data to produce fast detections with limited information will be developed. The algorithms will be able to execute on the low-end microcontrollers used on sensor nodes. Using modular and biomimetic approaches, the PIs will design low-power image sensors that will perform efficient data extraction at the sensor level. Their design approach will reduce the computation and communications required by image sensors and provide an orthogonal methodology to conventional machine vision. The proposed research is required to advance the technology of mobile cameras for monitoring indoor assisted-living environments.

Broader Impacts: The image sensor network is the building block of building security, wide-area security, national security, monitoring health of civil structures as bridges and highways, observing natural environments and habitats, detecting severe natural events. The proposed image sensor network will be used in an assisted-living environment to monitor aging patients during everyday activity. The applied nature of the project is an attractive way to train students, particularly women and under-represented groups, and to motivate them to pursue careers in research and academia.

This award supports the development of integrated patch-clamp instrumentation for recording the electrical potential of individual cell membranes with higher sensitivity and throughput. This instrumentation will allow measurements of the opening and closing of individual ion-channels whose conductance has previously been too low to measure. Integrated circuitry will be developed to increase the density of recording sites and miniaturize the recording equipment. The circuit design will feature the silicon-on-sapphire technology. This integrated-circuit technology provides low-noise amplification of ion-channel currents and high-density integration of electronic components. An integrated patch-clamp amplifier will give better electrical performance, due to the reduction of cabling and parasitic capacitances that lower the measurement sensitivity.

This project will advance the understanding of ion channels, fundamental components of living cells. Using the proposed instrumentation, it may be possible to characterize the function of the products of the approximately 400 ion channel genes. The PIs are involved in CPEP: the Connecticut Pre-Engineering Program for under-represented minority and women students. Within this program, the PIs are working with children and teachers from K to 12, to promote practical science projects and to develop interest, abilities and communication skills. The PIs excite students' interest through presentations in local schools, participation to the New Haven Science Fair, and organizing laboratory tours and weekend science projects.

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

The objective of this research is to enable highly mobile computers and cellular phones with the image interpretation capabilities of large bench-top computers. The approach combines new event-based hardware and energy-efficient algorithms for the identification of objects in an image stream. The algorithmic core of this research is a lightweight implementation of a biologically-plausible engine for size and position independent object recognition in images. The use of event-based sensors and processing hardware has the potential to increase computational throughput and synthetic vision efficiency.

With respect to intellectual merit, the proposed research is intended to give event-based imaging devices the ability to extract specific information from visual streams. The size- and position-independent algorithms implemented in hardware are an enabling technology for efficient object recognition, and are necessary for the advancement of event-based artificial vision platforms. The research targets the design of event-driven processing hardware to extract object features with lightweight digital circuitry and utilizes spatial and temporal redundancy to increase the identification reliability.

With respect to potential broader impacts, this research has the potential to allow a cellular phone to serve as a virtual cane for the blind, help assisted-living patients, provide environmental awareness, and extend human senses. More broadly, this research can be applied to artificial vision, robot vision, image sensor networks, assisted-living systems, and monitoring systems. The project leverages the biomimetic nature of the approach to train students, particularly women and students from other underrepresented groups and to motivate them to pursue careers in research and academia through seminars, classes, and projects.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The study of neuronal activity in awake, freely moving animals is the most representative view of `normal'neuronal function. Anesthetics and restraint have profound effects on neuronal physiology and the correlate animal behavior. The study of real time neuronal event processing requires recording methods with high temporal bandwidth (>500 kHz) and the ability to detect physiologically relevant events (i.e. voltage changes or calcium flux). Currently only microelectrode recording of single neuronal units, multiunit activity and field potentials have sufficient temporal resolution and portability to allow recording of neuronal activity in freely moving animals. The current project will produce a miniature microscope/imaging chip which can be head mounted and will allow the recording of optical signals of changes in membrane voltage and calcium concentration in neurons in freely moving rodents. We have developed a prototype device that can collect wide field image sequences of fluorescent voltage dye signals. The current application will re-engineer and significantly improve this prototype device. We will systematically engineer each component to maximize excitation light delivery, fluorescent light collection and optical resolution while minimizing weight, volume, and heat generation. The device will be capable of recording rapid (1 kHz) fluorescent image sequences of a 2-3 mm2 area of cortex and detect small changes in F/F (0.1%). The device will contain a custom designed and built excitation light source, dichroic excitation and emission filters, dichroic mirror, collector lens, objective lens and imaging chip. The device will be small (<1.8 cm2) and light weight enough (10g) to be mounted on the head of a freely moving rat and possibly a mouse. The device will be developed and validated in studies of i) barrel cortex activity during active whisking and object discrimination as well as ii) olfactory bulb activity during active sniffing and scent recognition. The device is intended as a precursor to devices that can translate neuronal activity into actions in real time (optical brain machine interface). PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project will develop a device to study brain function in awake, behaving mammals. The device represents the first step in the development of a neuroprosthetic device to capture information from neuronal tissue regarding intended function. Such a device can ultimately be used to allow direct brain control of robotics, computers and instrumentation to allow paralyzed patients a way to exert conscience control of their environment.

Award Abstract:
Proposal Number: 1063347 Proposal Title: IDBR: High throughput instrumentation for lipid bilayers and single-channel patch-clamp

This award supports a project that will develop integrated micro-chip instrumentation used for recording the minute currents across biological cell membranes. The goal is an improvement of the sensitivity and the throughput of electrophysiology instruments for the study of membrane proteins, including functional analysis of ion channels and DNA identification using special channels with nano-scale pores. This project will also advance the sensitivity of patch-clamp recording systems and will allow inspection of the opening and closing of individual ion-channels whose conductance has previously been too low to examine. The proposed instrument will increase the number of recording channels by several hundred times. The research will advance the design of ultra-low noise instruments that maintain a small footprint and can be manufactured with standard and cheap microchip technologies. We will design, instrument and test integrated circuitry to increase the density of recording sites and miniaturize the recording equipment.

Current measurements are used throughout biomedical instruments and thus the work proposed here will have large applicability in medicine and engineering. The amplifier we will develop can be used in instruments for cellular biology and physiology, DNA sequencing with nanopores, low-power circuit for cellular interfaces, nano-sensors and biomedical nano- devices, low-noise acquisition of bio-signals. The societal impacts of the technology and ion-channel research are in the prevention of diseases, and in many other scientific fields that rely on cheap recording of genetic material, such as forensics, biology, anthropology. Low-cost high-throughput electrophysiology devices also improve drug development and delivery, both for disease prevention, gene therapy, as well as for personalized medicine. The principal investigators are involved in the Science Saturdays program for under-represented minority and women students. Within this acclaimed program, the PIs are working with children and teachers from K to 12, to promote practical science projects and to develop interest, abilities and communication skills. The investigators excite students interest with presentations in local schools, participation to the New Haven Science Fair, organizing laboratory tours and weekend science projects.