Session B2
Paper # 2166
OPHOTONICS: THE INTEGRATION OF FIBER OPTICS INTO HUMAN
BODIES FOR THE CONTROL OF NEUROPROSTHESES
Michael Harr (mhh14@pitt.edu), Zachary Sherman (zas28@pitt.edu)
Abstract— The following paper addresses the use of fiberoptic technology in the human nervous system to create a
control system for prostheses, This is part of an area of
research is known as neurophotonics. Previous technologies
involving neural interactions used common electrical wires
to help transport the signals from the brain or to connect to
healthy tissue located elsewhere in the body [1]. While
these means of connecting neuroprostheses were sufficient at
the time, they lack the ability of true, natural movement.
These wires were limited in the number of signals they can
sense and can only send, not receive, signals [2]. This
method is quickly becoming an archaic means of connecting
prostheses and implants to the nervous system.
Neurophotonic pathways use light to communicate both the
signals sent from the brain to the prosthesis and stimuli back
to the nervous system. Our paper will discuss the
applications of this technology to neuroprostheses,
engineering aspects, such as design and mechanical
structure, and medical aspects, such as integration into the
body. Our project will compare this new technology to past
neural implants an will discuss the ethical considerations
and boundaries of this technology, as well as its future
implications.
attempted. Neurophotonics will have a large impact on the
quality of life for those with disabilities. Like any new
technology, neurophotonics has it’s own set of ethical issues
involving its use and implementation. These will need to be
examined before it can become a reputable technology and
form of treatment for disabilities. Neurophotonics will create
the most advanced prosthesis on the market.
HISTORY OF PROSTHETICS
The earliest known use of prosthetics was by the Egyptians,
over 4000 years ago, who created very basic replacements
for injured missing appendages.
Key Words—Bioengineering, Fiber Optics, Neural
Pathways, Neural Prosthetics, Neurophotonics, Prosthesis
FIGURE 1
INTRODUCTION
A prosthetic toe used by the Egyptians 4000 years ago [4]
Disabilities resulting from defects or damage to the human
body have always affected civilization. Since the creation of
the first prosthesis, attempts have been made to create an
artificial solution to these problems. As technology has
progressed, the types of prostheses available have become
much more advanced and their uses more extensive. Neural
prosthetics is the use of man made devices connected
directly to the nervous system to substitute motor, cognitive,
and sensory functions of damaged body parts [3]. From
neural prosthetics, a new technology known as
neurophotonics has emerged. Neurophotonics is the use of
fiber optic technology within the human body. This
technology, once developed, will revolutionize the prosthetic
sciences.
The changes fiber optics brings to neural
prosthetics surpass older technologies in both engineering
and medical aspects.
Medically, neurophotonics is
revolutionary. The capabilities of fiber optics are something
the medical world has never encountered before. Examining
the engineering side of neurophotonics, it will take
considerable engineering prowess to integrate fiber optics
with biological material, something that has never been
In the United States, some of the first documented
applications of prosthetics were during the Civil War, where
wooden structures were used to replace legs. While these
prostheses were very simple, they became the starting point
for what would later become one of the most advanced
technologies in society. From the wooden leg, inventors
soon moved onto more elaborate forms of limbs involving
ball and socket joints made out of ivory or other durable
materials. Moving parts allowed prostheses to act more like
limbs, making them more mobile and practical than pieces
of carved wood. The destruction caused by both world wars
is what really pushed prosthetic limb technology closer to
the technologies of today. The use of materials such as
aluminum and plastics marked a notable advance from
previous devices. In fact, the term prosthesis itself has
recently acquired a much broader definition: no longer are
prostheses thought of as just attachments to missing limbs.
They are also a means of fixing damage to the central
nervous system. The first use of this kind of neural
prosthesis was the cochlear implant in 1972 [3]. This was a
University of Pittsburgh
Swanson School of Engineering
April 14, 2012
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Michael Harr
Zachary Sherman
very large step for prosthetics because it was the first device
that worked in unison with the nervous system. The cochlear
implant connects to nerves inside the ear, where it can send
impulses straight to the brain via these nerves. Another
common neuroprosthesis is the pacemaker, which is used to
keep the heart on a healthy rhythm. Although the pacemaker
is not replacing any human part, it is considered a prosthesis
because of its ability to keep a patient’s heart functioning
properly through artificial means.
to move it to the correct location [6]. Another problem arises
from the electrodes that are implanted in the body. They are
made out of metal, which the body tends to reject and
corrode over time. This makes the device only last for about
six to twelve months [7]. The electrical wires used to send
the signal from he electrodes to the prosthesis. While
normally sufficient for controlling an electrical device, they
lack the ability of bi-directional signaling and when
compared to the speed the brain sends signals to the nervous
system, they can be a fraction of a second off. These wires
are also unable to sense the large variety of signals that the
brain can send meaning fine motor control is hard to
achieve. Despite being able to control these prostheses
through thought, it often has to be deliberate and lacks the
natural, reaction-like movement of a real limb.
CURRENT TECHNOLOGIES
Today, there are currently three different types of
neuroprostheses in use: sensory prosthetics, motor
prosthetics, and cognitive prosthetics. These have a variety
of different functions. Sensory prosthetics repair damage to
the senses such as sight or hearing, motor prosthetics replace
a missing body part or help stimulate malfunctioning areas,
and cognitive prosthetics, while still largely under
development, replace sections of the brain itself [3]. With
such a variety of prostheses available, there is also a variety
of ways they can be controlled.
FIBER OPTICS
The general consensus with many is that fiber optic
technology is just the wires that supply the Internet and
cable TV to a household. While fiber optics is most
commonly used for these types of data transportation, they
have the potential to be used in multiple other capacities.
The reason fiber optic technology is so versatile lies in how
data and signals are transported through them. Comparable
to the metal wires that are used in a majority of technologies,
fiber optics is based on much deeper understandings of how
light and energy can be transported. Only within the past
few decades has fiber optic technology become a practical
means of data transportation. The proper functioning of
fiber optics relies heavily on ideas from optical physics [8].
Optical physics is the study of electromagnetic radiation and
also how that radiation interacts with matter. The scientists
and engineers behind fiber optic technology have
constructed a means of controlling the content and direction
of light through these fibers.
There are currently two means of transporting light using
fiber optics, single mode fiber and multimode fiber. With
single mode, the light travels in a straight line through a
hollow glass fiber. This fiber, which is 1/80 the width of a
human hair, can transport light with little to no interference.
This is the most effective way of transporting light, but it is
also the most expensive due to the size of the materials.
Multimode fibers rely on the bouncing of light through the
hollow glass fiber. These fibers are only about 1/8 the width
of human hair [8]. Because the fibers are small glass tubes,
this allows light to travel both forward and backward
through them. Either form of transportation can send ten
times the amount of data that an electrical wire can [9]. They
send the data at incredibly high speeds due to it being carried
by light, which travels at 10,000 times faster than the highest
radio frequency [8]. The speed and multi-directional ability
with which data can be transferred are what make fiber
optics such a revolutionary technology.
Current Control Systems
The most advanced control system currently on the market
consists of electrodes either placed over the nerves from
where the limb was lost or implanted directly in the brain.
The former, called targeted muscle reinnervation, moves the
nerves from the remaining part of the limb to another area of
the body, often the chest. Electrodes are then placed on the
skin above the new location of these nerves. When the brain
thinks about moving the amputated limb, the nerves contract
part of the muscle they were moved to. This impulse that
cause a muscle contraction is called a myoelectric signal.
The electrodes sense this signal and relay an equivalent
electric signal to the artificial limb [5]. The other
implementation of electrodes for the control of prostheses is
to implant them directly into the part of the brain that
controls the missing limb. This offers even more direct
control than targeted muscle reinnervation and also bypasses
the old nerves altogether, allowing for potential use by the
paralyzed or those whose limb was too damaged for the
nerves to be reused. When the patient thinks about moving
their limb, the part of the brain responsible activates and
stimulates the electrode, which then relays the signal to the
prosthesis [6].
The obvious advantage to these techniques is that they
allow a prosthesis to be moved by thought alone, something
that was a major breakthrough when it was first available.
These neuroprostheses are also readily available today,
allowing almost any amputee to use them.
There are negatives, however. For instance, the brain
floats freely in the skull, while an implanted electrode
remains where it was placed. This means even a minor
collision can cause the electrode to become wrongly aligned.
The patient would have to undergo a very invasive surgery
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Michael Harr
Zachary Sherman
SMU, created a solution to the problem. He developed an
entirely new type of spherical whispering gallery mode
sensor [13]. They were given this name because they can
pick up on even the smallest of signals, similar to how if you
stand in a small-enclosed dome, you can hear whispers on
the opposite side of the building.
In order to understand how these sensors work, on has
to first understand how nerve signals work. Nerve cells, or
neurons are connected to one another in a long system. Each
of the cells has antenna like structures, called dendrites,
around the body of the cell and a single, long axon. The
axon of one neuron connects to the dendrites of another with
a small gap in between. At these gaps, called synapses,
chemical transmitters jump from one neuron to the other.
This is caused by a change in electrical charge across the cell
membrane when a signal is sent from the brain. The
chemicals are the forced to move and pass the signal on [14].
This change in electric charge is what is important for the
sensors.
WGM sensors detect miniscule changes in an electric
field. This is perfect for detecting the myoelectric pulses sent
through neurons. Light travels through the optical fiber,
along the surface of the inside of the sphere, back into the
fiber again. One round-trip gives off a resonance in the form
of an integer multiple of the wavelength of the light being
sent. This resonance is what is examined to determine what
is happening in the sensor. When a signal is sent down the
nerve that the sensor is located by, the electric field created
distorts the spherical sensor. It can cause changes in size,
shape, or refractive index. This disrupts the resonance
pattern. The stronger the impulse, the more the resonance
pattern gets disrupted. This disturbance is then read as an
optical equivalent to the nerve impulse [7]. By relating the
change in the optical signal to the signal sent through the
nerves, the prosthetic limb then knows it should move.
Based on the particular nerve and the strength of the
impulse, the limb knows how to move and how quickly and
precisely to do so.
The specific WGM sensors Professor Otugen created are
made of a soft material called polydimethylsiloxane. It has
similar texture to silicone and feels like real tissue, but most
importantly, it is completely biocompatible [7]. The spheres
are only about fifty microns in diameter, allowing hundreds
to be embedded on a single optical fiber. They also have the
remarkable ability to stimulate the nerves they are implanted
in. This allows for two-way communication and the potential
for advanced future uses.
Multiple systems are being considered to attach these
sensors to the nerve, but the most viable system is a cuff. It
would house a large number optical fibers and would be
connected to the prosthesis at one end and the nerves at the
other [15]. The fibers will then extend out of the cuff into the
nerve where they will be able to sense any signals sent down
the axons. Once these signals are sensed, they are relayed to
the prosthetic limb. In the prosthesis, a computer
programmed to interpret these signals as orders for
FIGURE 2
The differing ways light can travel through an optical fiber [10]
INTEGRATION OF FIBER OPTICS
Using fiber optics in the human body is the definition of
neurophotonics. A way to directly connect the optic fiber to
the human nervous system had to be developed, along with a
surgical procedure to implement it. This required the
research team working on neurophotonics to have more
forward thinking than what would normally be required;
creating technology that has real potential for practical use.
Origin
Neurophotonics originated as a field in 2005 when
researches at Vanderbilt discovered that a nerve could be
stimulated using infrared light. In fact, a nerve can be
stimulated this way without any form of touch or other
stimulus at all. Using rats, a group of biomedical engineers
was able to stimulate nerves in their hind legs and actually
control the muscles in the leg and even individual toes. They
had originally started the experiment not with nerve
stimulation in mind, but attempting to use light to detect the
movement of an electrical impulse from a nerve [11]. Their
key discovery was just pure coincidence. This experiment
gave way to the idea of using light to transmit messages to
and from the brain.
More recently, DARPA, the Research and Development
branch of the Pentagon, funded Southern Methodist
University with $5.6 million as a part of its Centers in
Integrated Photonics Engineering Research, or CIPhER [12].
Headed by Marc P. Christensen, their goal is to further
neurophotonic research and to develop a way to integrate
fiber optics directly into the body.
Engineering Aspects
How to connect the optical fibers to the nervous system is
the main challenge of neurophotonics. A way to seamlessly
integrate sensors into the nerves without them being rejected
needed to be developed. Volkan Otugen, a professor at
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Michael Harr
Zachary Sherman
movement then instructs the limb in what to do. This all
happens in the blink of an eye.
piece of contrasting material is placed behind the nerve to
make it more visible. Microscopic incisions are then made in
the nerve. Once the incisions are made, the neurophotonic
interface cuff is placed over the nerve allowing the fiber
optic probes to be inserted into the nerve itself [17]. At this
point in the procedure, the optical fibers have been
successfully integrated into the nervous system and the
patient can be sewn up and the surgery completed.
Benefits
Fiber optics has numerous benefits over the older
technology. They are more efficient, more compatible with
the body, and more powerful. All of this is why researchers
are putting a lot of effort into neurophotonics. The
capabilities provided are tremendous when compared to
anything on the market today.
Optical fibers, as previously mentioned, carry ten times
the data of their electric counterparts. Combine this with the
more direct connection provided by implanting the fibers
directly in the nerve instead of an putting electrode in the
brain or moving the nerves to another part of the body, and
The overall process is vastly more efficient. Data travels
faster from the brain to the prosthesis. No longer would
patients have to cope with their movements being a fraction
of a second slower than a real limb. Optical fibers actually
have the potential to be faster than our real nervous system
[18]. Removing the delay caused by previous prostheses
makes the limbs more life-like.
One of the major problems with previous
neuroprostheses was their lack of biocompatibility. With
fiber optics, the main materials are flexible glass, polymer
fibers, and the polydimethylsiloxane of the sensors. All of
these materials are compatible with living tissue, avoiding a
response from the immune system, and pushing the lifespan
of the device up to ten or more years [7]. They are all
incredibly durable while maintaining a tissue-like quality.
Finally, and maybe most importantly, neurophotonic
prostheses are much more powerful than their electronic
counterparts. What this power comes down to is the ability
to control the prosthesis with the fine movement of a real
limb. Especially evident in a hand, the patient would be able
to do things never thought possible with an artificial limb
[13]. The user would be able to do play the piano, rotate
their wrist, or pick something up with delicacy and care.
All the benefits created by neurophotonics sum up to a
single overall betterment: an increase in the quality of the
patient’s life. No better reason could exist to create a
technology than to help someone. By returning a person’s
abilities back to what they were before the loss of a limb, his
or her life could regain the normalcy they want. They could
participate in hobbies or other interests they may not have
been able to do without the limb, and this would be a great
achievement.
FIGURE 2
A nerve with a neurophotonic cuff attached [15]
Medical Aspects
Human neurons range in width from 4 to 100 microns. This
is smaller than a human hair. To work with something so
small, a special type of surgery, called microsurgery, is used.
As its name suggests, this type of surgery is performed under
a microscope. A magnification of five to forty times is
usually used. This magnifies the operating field enough that
the surgeon can properly see structures almost invisible to
the naked eye. Video is also taken of the surgical area so the
rest of the medical team can view the operation [16].
The instruments that surgeons use for microsurgery
have to be capable of finely manipulating such small
structures. They have to have handles large enough that the
surgeon can hold on to them properly, but the working end
has to be small enough that it is not cumbersome when being
used on the patient. The tremor of a surgeon’s hand also
needs to be taken into account, because even a slight
movement can have a drastic effect on such a small scale.
These tools include forceps, needle holders, scissors,
vascular clamps, irrigators, and other standard surgical tools,
all much smaller than their normal counterparts [16].
In order to use the instruments and perform these
procedures, a surgeon needs specific training. Special
techniques need to be taught such as minimizing hand
tremor and proper posture [16]. Proficiency at microsurgical
techniques is important, especially considering how
important these body parts normally are. If a surgeon makes
a mistake implementing a neurophotonic device, for
instance, damage could occur to the nerves, causing the
patient to lose more feeling than they already have.
When the optical fibers are ready to be implanted into
the nerve, a series of steps needs to be followed first. The
ends of the peripheral nerves need to be trimmed to expose
healthy nerve tissue. If the were no nerves left after the loss
of a limb, healthy nerves need to be grafting from another
part of the body to be used in the device. From this point, a
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Michael Harr
Zachary Sherman
advances, the impact neurophotonics will have on the future
of medicine will be astonishing.
THE ETHICS OF NEUROPHOTONICS
The ethics of a technology are one of the most important
considerations for an engineer, especially bioengineers
whose technologies directly impact the quality of human
life. The medical field has its own code of ethics that differ
from the biomedical engineering code of ethics as well.
When creating a new technology, both codes need to be
considered. If the technology does not fall under the
guidelines of one, then it cannot ethically be developed.
The Biomedical Engineering Society has created a code
of ethics for bioengineers to follow that includes
considerations of cost, availability, and respecting the rights
of the patients [19]. For any engineer, cost can be an ally or
an enemy. If a technology is too expensive, it cannot
reasonably be manufactured, whereas if it’s cheap, it has a
benefit over older, more costly technologies. This is just
another area where fiber optic technology shines. A fiber
optic cable is actually cheaper than a typical copper
electrical wire. Alongside cost is availability. If the materials
to create a device are not easily attainable, it will drive the
cost way up. With fiber optics already well known and used
in other parts of society, the necessary materials are not hard
to come by.
Considerations about a patient’s rights and privacy are
pulled directly from the American Medical Association’s
medical code of ethics, but this is where the similarities end.
The medical code specifically states that the quality of care
is more important than cost, meaning an expensive but
helpful technology will be pushed into use [20]. In fact,
engineers and physicians often have conflicting views about
when a prosthesis is ready for human testing. Physicians
think the prosthesis should be put into testing as soon as
possible whereas engineers favor waiting until all possible
non-human testing is done [21].
Other medical considerations involve the surgical
procedures for implementing the fiber optics. The
procedures should be as minimally invasive as possible. Any
type of surgery has risk involved. This risks need to be
weighed against the benefits of the procedure to decide if it
is worth the trouble for a patient. Luckily, microsurgery is a
very noninvasive and low risk process. However, this riskto-benefit comparison still needs to be examined on a caseby-case basis for each patient. Every patient has specific
health related issues, which may determine if the prosthesis
is right for him or her.
The Science of Feeling
The multi-directional capacity of fiber optics will help to
make it even more valuable in the coming years. This
simple quality of optical fibers will allow seamless
communication between the prosthetic limbs and peripheral
nerves. The speed by which data will be transported by fiber
optics also makes it the optimum technology for this
application. By connecting the peripheral nerves to the
prostheses via a fiber optic cable, realistic robotic arms, legs
and hands can be created that move like the real thing [12].
The expected process for how this technology facilitates
feeling in a limb occurs as follows; let’s consider that a user
of this new prosthesis wants to pick up a cup of hot coffee.
First, signals are sent from the brain via existing nerves until
they reach the neurophotonic connection. The signals will
travel from the neurons into the fiber optic cables and then
into the prosthetic arm. Processors inside the arm will
analyze these signals and consequently move the arm
towards the cup of coffee. As the prosthetic hand grasps the
cup of coffee, a variety of sensors on the hand will detect
feelings such as pressure and warmth from the cup. These
signals will then be processed and sent back up the arm. The
signals are next sent into the fiber optic cables and directed
to the corresponding peripheral nerves that are used for those
sensations. The signals will then travel back to the brain and
the user will ‘feel’ the pressure and warmth when they are
holding the cup. This is one of the hopeful byproducts of
combining neurophotonic technology with neuroprostheses.
While this is a great achievement in the medical and
engineering world, those researching this technology hope to
go even further.
Application to Spinal Cord Injuries
Researchers in the neurophotonic field anticipate the
applications of this technology to go far beyond just
prostheses and enter into the world of spinal chord damage.
The eventual integration of this technology will hopefully
bring an end to all the side effects cause from spinal chord
injury. Spinal chord injuries have the potential to completely
alter the quality of life of an individual who has one.
Depending on the severity, spinal chord injuries can be as
minor as a loss of feeling in a finger to as serious as loss of
movement from the neck down. Injuries occur when trauma
to the spine causes damage to the spinal chord. In some
cases, if the damage is severe enough, it can cause severing
of the spinal chord and complete loss of motor control.
Those researching neurophotonics believe that this
technology can provide a solution to this type of injury. By
creating a bridge over the severed section of spine, the
nerves can be connected to one another the same way as how
they are connected to a prosthetic [13].
NEUROPHOTONICS AND THE FUTURE
Faster signal processing and a higher compatibility with the
human body are just the beginning of where engineers hope
to go with neurophotonics in the body. While these
improvements will revolutionize the use of prosthetics,
neurophotonics will also continue to improve and become
more applicable to other injuries involving the human body.
While high tech prostheses will continue to make important
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Michael Harr
Zachary Sherman
NEUROPHOTONICS: LIGHT UP YOUR BODY
REFERENCES
Neurophotonics is on the forefront of the engineering world
and is going to become one of the most advanced
technologies our society has ever seen. From the start of the
first prosthesis in ancient Egypt to the invention of fiber
optics, these advances have since improved and merged to
facilitate the use of neurophotonics to control
neuroprostheses.
Since Vanderbilt researchers discovered the potential
use of light in the body in 2005, even more innovations have
been made. SMU continues to research neurophotonics
today. They have created a sensor capable of picking up on
even the smallest of neural impulses using only light. These
sensors not only read neural impulses, but can stimulate the
nerve as well, allowing for bi-directional communication.
Integrated into the nervous system through the use of cuffs
housing the optical fibers, all the materials used will be
completely biocompatible.
Medically, microsurgery allows for the neurophotonic
devices to be integrated into the body. Microscopes and
special instruments are used to allow for surgery on such a
small part of the body. Specially trained surgeons are then
capable of implanting the optical fibers directly into the
nerves.
A multitude of benefits arise out of fiber optics in the
body. A higher efficiency and biocompatibility are chief
among them, but the most important improvement is the
power of control in the prostheses. No longer will a user be
unable to do the things someone without an amputation can.
These benefits come together to greatly improve the lives of
the users of neurophotonic prostheses.
With ethics being an important part of any new
technology, multiple codes of ethics need to be taken into
account. Both the BMES code and the AMA health code
need to be considered. Neurophotonics has proven thus far
to be a very ethical technology. Lowering cost, raising
availability, and improving the lives of the people using the
prostheses all make it a viable technology.
As this technology begins to be implemented in actual
clinical trials, it will undoubtedly increase the quality of life
for those needing prostheses. The ability to create a more
mobile and realistic prosthetic limb is something that was
always strived for when producing new prosthetics. The
future plans for this technology are equally as impressive.
The ability to allow a user to experience sensations such as
warmth and pressure are very futuristic compared to what
exists today. Not only will this technology benefit the
prosthetic community, but also the future implications it
could have on injuries involving the spinal chord would be
even more revolutionary.
The possibility to ‘revive’
damaged parts of the spinal chord could allow
neurophotonics to be the genesis of a brand new way of
treating these types of injuries. As research continues into
the future, we will surely see the creation of innovative and
astounding technologies.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank our writing instructor, Barbara
Edelman, for the help she has given us on writing our paper
as well as our fellow students for helping to create a proper
atmosphere for doing work.
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