Associate Professor Yusuf Ozgur Cakmak's neuroprosthetics research into medical wearable technologies has been given a boost thanks to a Royal Society Te Apārangi award.
An Otago researcher investigating an innovative approach to help people manage diseases associated with the nervous system has been recognised by the Royal Society Te Apārangi.
Applied anatomy researcher Associate Professor Yusuf Ozgur Cakmak has been awarded a Royal Society Te Apārangi Charles Fleming Senior Scientist Award to support his neuroprosthetics studies into medical wearables.
Neuroprosthetics is a fascinating field that focuses on developing devices that work with the nervous system, aiming to restore lost functions or enhance existing ones.
Such devices range from cochlear implants that restore hearing, to brain-machine interfaces that enable movement in paralysed people.
Yusuf’s pioneering research, supported by MedTech Core and the Health Research Council of New Zealand, investigates non-invasive wearable devices for the ear.
His research targeting electrical stimulation on these auricular muscles in the ear has already significantly improved patients with Parkinson’s disease, and also on odour perception and stomach activity.
Numerous different conditions can benefit from these devices, including inflammatory diseases, autonomic disorders and related dysfunctions within organs, as well as neurological disorders.
Yusuf’s research has already led to several international intellectual properties and a spin-out company, in the United States.
Stimulation within the ear is now offered as one of the rehabilitation options for stroke patients in the United States.
“Linking this information on anatomy with cutting-edge technology is developing brand-new surgery-free methods to manage dysfunctional neural networks,” he says.
The Royal Society funding will provide addition support for Yusuf and his team to investigate detailed neural networks within the human ear.
It’s hoped this information will eventually lead to further non-invasive devices to improve quality of life, he says.
“It has the potential to revolutionise patient care. I predict these technologies will increasingly influence how diseases are managed into the future.”
~ Kōrero by the School of Biomedical Sciences Communications Adviser, Claire Grant.