Name

    Adviser

Anita Mahadevan-Jansen

    Email

graham.a.throckmorton@vanderbilt.edu

    CV

    Areas of Research

Infrared Neural Stimulation

Nerve regeneration

Intraoperative nerve mapping

    Project Summary

 My research at the Vanderbilt Biophotonics Center is focused on the clinical translation of infrared neural stimulation (INS). As of yet, no study has compared the efficacy and safety of using different INS parameters such as spot size and wavelength. Moreover, differences in the methods of determining energy deposition and laser spot size make it difficult to compare stimulation parameters used in the current literature and impede the clinical translation of INS. My work seeks to bridge that gap by creating a parametric study comparing the effect of wavelength, spot size, and beam profiles on the efficacy of INS in vivo. Once these parameters have been optimized, INS' spatial resolution will be leveraged to improve methods of intraoperative nerve mapping and monitoring as well as nerve regeneration. 

Collaborators:

E. Duco Jansen, Vanderbilt Biophotonics Center