The human body’s nervous system is complex. Consisting of the brain, spinal cord and sensory organs, the nervous system acts as the communicator of the body, receiving information, deciding what information to deliver and sending messages to organs to take action. At times, these messages may not be delivered properly due to damaged nerves, causing organ dysfunction.
Understanding nerve activity is something Zachary Danziger, assistant professor at the School of Biomedical, Materials and Mechanical Engineering within the College of Engineering & Computing, has been researching for years. Focusing on the nerves located in the urinary tract, Danziger is looking to improve the efficiency of stimulation technology to restore bladder function and ultimately improve people’s lives.
Through the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions (SPARC) program, Danziger and researchers from other institutions across the nation have received more than $1 million in funds. Their goal is to create a computational model using machine learning that can guide the development of new therapeutic electrical signal stimulations and effectively identify a nerve that can control the bladder.
Read more at FIU News.