EI78052 Project Laboratory Neuroelectronics

The participants will work on up-to-date research projects of the neuroelectronics group. The course will start with a screening of the current literature. Afterwards, the students will work on a defined scientific project within the context of neuroelectronics. Specifically, the students will work on topics such as
- fabrication and characterization of stimulation electrodes
- development of stimulation electronics
- development of electrochemical and mechanical measurement setups
- temporal or chronic electrode-tissue interfacing strategies
- etc.

Upon successful completion of the module, the student is able to independently conduct defined research projects related to neuroelectronics. This includes:
• performing a literature research with regards to with regards to individually assigned questions in the field of neuroelectronics
• designing experiments that allow testing hypotheses with respect to individually assigned questions in the field of neuroelectronics
• conducting experiments to gather microscopic (structure, dimensions, roughness, etc.) or electrochemical (impedance spectra, charge-injection capabilities, etc.) data to evaluate the performance of recording/stimulation electrodes for neuroelectronic applications
• analyzing structural microscopic (structure, dimensions, roughness, etc.) and electrochemical characteristics (impedance spectra, charge-injection capabilities, etc.) to determine performance and durability of recording/stimulation electrodes during neuroelectronic experiments
• presenting results on the developments of recording/stimulation electrodes for neuroelectronic applications orally during regular group meetings and in writing in the form of a lab report

BioMEMS & Microfluidics

The module will comprise a project lab course. After an introduction to the field, the student will independently carry out state-of-the-art neuroelectronics experiments. The results will be analyzed and discussed with an experienced tutor. This will help the student to design follow-up experiments to reach their scientific goal. Thereby the students will achieve a deeper understanding of the interdisciplinary field of neuroelectronics in a research environment and learn to design, conduct, analyze and present scientific experiments.
The students will present their results in a written report as well as an oral presentation. The integration of students within the research group is fostered by appointing an experienced group member as an additional mentor. This will allow the students to participate at cutting-edge research projects at an early stage of their career.

Project-specific research papers, experimental plans/schedules, electronic presentations during group meetings, final report

E. R. Kandel, J. H. Schwartz, and T. M. Jessell, Principles of Neural Science, 4th Revised edition (Mcgraw-Hill Professional, New York, NY, 2000)

Additional project-specific literature will be given at the project start.

Lab performance and discussion (Laborleistung): 100%
The examination consists of a written report introducing the scientific background, the motivation, and the experiments and results of the project (Report, 15-25 pages). In addition, regular discussions with the assigned tutor (research assistant) about the progress of the experiments and resulting next steps (5-10 Experiments, 2-4 short progress presentations). The written report demonstrates the student’s ability to summarize the theoretical background of a scientific project and to analyze and evaluate the results. The regular discussions with the tutor measure the student’s ability to develop a scientific idea within the field of microfluidics. Starting from initial concepts, the student delivers interim results at relevant milestones and finally reaches the set goals within the given timeframe.

Eine Wiederholungsmöglichkeit wird angeboten.