Interdisciplinary Initiatives Program Round 4 – 2008

Scott Delp, Bioengineering
Karl Deisseroth, Bioengineering
Vincent Hentz, Plastic & Hand Surgery

Disabling muscle weakness occurs when patients are unable to stimulate muscles to generate force. Painful muscle spasticity arises when patients are unable to relax their muscles to diminish their force. This project will produce the technology and biological understanding necessary to simultaneously treat muscle weakness and spasticity by activating and de-activating muscles with pulses of blue and yellow light. The success of this project will produce a novel research tool and lay the groundwork for treatments that address many of the problems associated with spinal cord injury, stroke, and cerebral palsy.