Skin-attached bioadhesive patch enabling ultrasound deep brain stimulation and real-time electrophysiological monitoring for REM sleep enhancement
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- 2Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- 3Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA, USA
- 4Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA. [email protected]
- 5Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. [email protected]
- 6Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. [email protected]
Abstract
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.
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BibTeX
@article{tang2026skinattached,
title = {{Skin-attached bioadhesive patch enabling ultrasound deep brain stimulation and real-time electrophysiological monitoring for REM sleep enhancement}},
author = {Kai Wing Kevin Tang and Benjamin Baird and William D. Moscoso-Barrera and Mengxia Yu and Mengmeng Yao and Jinmo Jeong and Ilya Pyatnitskiy and Anakaren Romero Lozano and Jiachen Wang and Ju-Chun Hsieh and Tony Sungjin Chae and Daniel Song and Julieta Garcia and Rithvik Mittapalli and Adam Bush and Wynn Legon and Vincent Mysliwiec and Gregory A. Fonzo and Huiliang Wang},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-73787-6},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73787-6},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Skin-attached bioadhesive patch enabling ultrasound deep brain stimulation and real-time electrophysiological monitoring for REM sleep enhancement
AU - Kai Wing Kevin Tang
AU - Benjamin Baird
AU - William D. Moscoso-Barrera
AU - Mengxia Yu
AU - Mengmeng Yao
AU - Jinmo Jeong
AU - Ilya Pyatnitskiy
AU - Anakaren Romero Lozano
AU - Jiachen Wang
AU - Ju-Chun Hsieh
AU - Tony Sungjin Chae
AU - Daniel Song
AU - Julieta Garcia
AU - Rithvik Mittapalli
AU - Adam Bush
AU - Wynn Legon
AU - Vincent Mysliwiec
AU - Gregory A. Fonzo
AU - Huiliang Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/04
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-73787-6
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73787-6
AB - 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.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -