Development of a closed-loop neural prosthesis for vestibular disorders

Vestibular disorders can cause severe problems including spatial disorientation, imbalance, nausea, visual blurring, and even cognitive deficits. The CLONS project is developing a closed-loop, sensory neural prosthesis to alleviate these symptoms [1]. In this article, we outline the different components necessary to develop this prosthetic. A short version of this work was presented in the NEUREL 2010 [1]. Conceptually, the prosthesis restores vestibular information based on inertial sensors rigidly affixed to the user. These sensors provide information about rotational velocity of the head; the prosthetic then transfers the information to the vestibular nerve via electrical stimulation. Here we present a project overview, development details, and summarize our progress in animal models and selected human volunteers.