On January 23, 2018, Dr. Ranu Jung, BME Chair, was granted a new patent for technology that promotes adaptive pacing of the diaphragm. Patent #US9872989, titled “System and Method for Neuromorphic Controlled Adaptive Pacing of Respiratory Muscles and Nerves”, has been an ongoing project of Dr. Jung’s for several years.<a href="https://bme.fiu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Screen-Shot-2018-02-09-at-9.41.34-AM.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-14793 alignright" src="https://bme.fiu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Screen-Shot-2018-02-09-at-9.41.34-AM-263x300.png" alt="" width="263" height="300" /></a>

Patent Summary:
Adaptive systems and methods for automatically determining and continuously updating stimulation parameters for adjusting ventilation to accommodate a patient’s specific physiology, metabolic needs, and muscle state are disclosed herein. Having a closed loop implementation, the system may comprise a controller including a neuromorphic controlled adaptive feed-forward Pattern Generator/Pattern Shaper (PG/PS) assembly, which controls respiratory muscle movement using electrical stimulation. This PG/PS assembly comprises a biomimetic design where the pattern generator includes a neural network mimicking the simplified connectivity pattern of respiratory related neurons in the brain stem to produce a rhythmic breathing pattern frequency and the pattern shaper includes a neural network mimicking the simplified connectivity pattern of neurons to produce a stimulus control signal. This biomimetic design for the controller automatically customizes and continually updates stimulation parameters to achieve a desired breathing pattern and, thereby, slow the development of muscle fatigue.

To learn more about the patent, click <a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US9872989B2/en?oq=US9872989">here</a>.

Congratulations Dr. Jung!