Wearable Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation and Electrophysiological Recording Patch for REM Sleep Enhancement

The rise in sleep disease affecting the general population globally in the past decade has been detrimental to individually and socioeconomically. As of now, approaches often are temporary through medication, permanently using invasive implants with surgical complications or neuromodulation therapy. However, non-invasive, state-dependent neuromodulation during sleep is technically challenging, especially with the lack of flexibility, comfortability and robustness for sleep conditions. Here, we introduce a N on-invasive E lectrophysiological Recording and U ltrasound Neuromodulation Slee p P atch (NEUSLeeP) in delivering focused ultrasound stimulation to the subthalamic nucleus (STN) overnight with simultaneous stable polysomnography recording. Our sleep patch integrates a custom eight-channel concentric ring transducer array with real-time electroencephalography (EEG), electrooculography (EOG), electromyography (EMG) recording, and individualized line-of-sight targeting to sonicate deep brain areas while preserving mobility. Our platform operated safely and comfortably across the two-night’s sleep study. Stimulation of the left STN was delivered every 90 minutes throughout the night and was associated with a 25% increase in REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep duration and a 43 minutes reduction in REM sleep latency compared to a sham night in a study of 26 subjects. Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal attenuation in functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) was localized primarily to a left ipsilateral basal-ganglia-midbrain-temporal circuit, consistent with selective network modulation rather than global arousal changes. Overall, NEUSLeeP demonstrates feasibility by (i) a light weight and wearable ultrasound neuromodulation and sleep recording during natural sleep; (ii) establishing a potential mechanism relating targeted ultrasound stimulation of STN/sleep networks to REM enhancement.