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MUSC nets defense contract for brain stimulation device  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced Thursday, May 9, that it awarded MUSC  a Phase I/II contract to develop a portable brain stimulation device for use by the military to alleviate the effects of sleep deprivation on soldiers' performance.  The contract, entitled “Creating a Man-portable Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation System (TMS) to Improve War-fighter Performance,” was awarded to Mark  S. George, M.D., and Daryl E. Bohning, Ph.D., both of MUSC. The project has the potential of revolutionizing warfare and has important other military and non-military applications.  The university has received a $2.1 million contract, with the potential of an additional $4 million based on the progress of the project. The overall goal of the project is to use the unique resources at MUSC's Brain Stimulation Laboratory and Center for Advanced Imaging Research to determine if:  non-invasive stimulation of the brain can  improve a soldier's performance, and then design, manufacture and test a prototype of a system that would be capable of delivering this technology in the field. “If we are successful,” said George,  contract principal investigator and director of the Brain Stimulation Laboratory, “the U.S. military would have the theoretical background of how to use this system to improve soldier performance, and a proven, tested prototype of a system that can be carried to the next level of testing.” MUSC researchers will use functional imaging of how the brain solves complex tasks, and then apply non-invasive brain stimulation to determine if one can boost performance, either at baseline or following several days of sleep deprivation. Several recent studies have hinted that this may be possible. The contract is part of a nationwide program conducted by DARPA to improve soldiers' performance after several days of little to no sleep. If MUSC researchers determine that brain stimulation can temporarily improve performance, then they are charged with designing and then building helmets that could be worn by pilots or soldiers in combat. “This award is a tribute to the innovative work being conducted by Dr. George and his colleagues, said MUSC President Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D.  “When we created the Center for Advanced Imaging Research with Dr. George as director, our goal was to promote this type of cutting edge work.  We are delighted to build a collaborative relationship with DARPA and hope that it will grow in the years ahead.”  “We are very excited about this work, and that we can carry it out here in South Carolina,” said George, who is also distinguished professor of psychiatry, radiology and neurology at MUSC. “Although this work—trying to improve soldiers' performance—is not directly related to improving health, it has the potential for helping us in our other work in understanding how to use brain stimulation to treat diseases like depression and Parkinson's disease. Also, if we can safely improve the performance of sleepy soldiers, then there are lots of other potential applications in our society where this might be useful.” About TMS The system will use the principle of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to stimulate regions of the brain affected by sleep deprivation. George has received international recognition for his development of this technique to treat depressive illness. Transcranial magnetic stimulation involves placing an electromagnetic coil on the scalp. High-intensity current is rapidly turned on and off in the coil through the discharge of capacitors. This produces a time-varying   magnetic field that lasts for about 100 to 200 microseconds. The magnetic field has a strength of approximately 40,000 times the earth’s magnetic field. The proximity of the brain to the time-varying magnetic field makes current flow in neural tissue.  The technological advances made in the last 15 years led to the development of magnetic stimulators that produce sufficient current in the brain to result in neuronal depolarization.  About DARPA DARPA is the central research and development organization for the Department of Defense (DoD). It manages and directs selected basic and applied research and development projects for DoD, and pursues research and technology where risk and payoff are both very high and where success may provide dramatic advances for traditional military roles and missions. The DARPA mission is to develop imaginative, innovative and often high-risk ideas offering a significant technological impact that will go well beyond the normal evolutionary developmental approaches; and, to pursue these ideas from the demonstration of technical feasibility through the development of prototype systems.