Description:

Abstract

Diseases and injuries that affect upper limb function and form can occur at any site along the control pathway for the limb, from the brain's cortex to the distal targets. Most research programs focus on particular pathologies within this pathway. However, functional outcomes depend on all of a patient's deficits being addressed simultaneously, the complexity of which is aggravated by the interplay of the varying pathologies and their treatments. It is therefore necessary to create a suite of synergistic solutions for use in a variety of combinations appropriate to each patient. We present five such example technologies, at varying stages: 1. Brain-Machine Interfaces: We have developed small (30 x 5 µm), highly flexible probes, coated with an ultrafast degrading polymer that acts as a temporary aid to insertion but then resorbs within 90 minutes. 2. Spinal Cord: Retrograde labeling of motor nuclei to assess the relative contributions of retrograde degeneration vs. preferential motor reinnervation. 3- 5. Peripheral Nerve Gap and Targets: We are developing a nerve guidance conduit to enable "distraction neurogenesis" of the intact proximal stump, to bypass autograft, achieve direct end-to-end repair, and shorten the distal distance over which regeneration is required. We have also tissue engineered long (≤10 cm) autologous human neurovascular bundles from decellularized xenogeneic ones in four progressively larger species; and are expanding this to create human neurovascularized muscles from animal sources. Finally, the historical learnings of the BION™ wireless microstimulator for chronically interfacing with sensory-motor targets will be presented, including its evolution into fetal pacemakers and proposed tissue-device hybrids for distal babysitting.

Speaker Info

Dr. Kaplan, MBBCh FCSSA PhD, is a Reconstructive Plastic Surgeon and Biomedical Engineer. His research focuses on neurosciences (nerve regeneration and neural prosthetics), and tissue engineering (composite tissues for limb and face allotransplantation). He consults globally for startup through Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies, across clinical, device-biologic and regulatory spaces. He has extensive translational experience in the medical device, regenerative medicine, reconstructive surgery and dermatology fields. Dr. Kaplan has a strong academic background and maintains an Adjunct Professorship in Regulatory Science at the University of Southern California, and a Visiting Scientist role at Rutgers University. He has held leadership positions of increasing responsibility in industry, including Senior Medical Director at Allergan (Fortune 500 healthcare) and Vice President of Clinical Sciences at LifeCell (tissue decellularization). Dr. Kaplan has a long history of advocating for burn prevention and reconstruction (as a burn surgeon, founding board member of the non-profit Grossman Burn Foundation, and father of a spirited burn survivor), and craniofacial reconstruction (as a founding director of the non-profit Look-at-Us Alliance for Craniofacial Differences).