The United States Army is currently funding a futuristic project whose goal is to improve the performance of soldiers by giving them optimal rest. It is about a kind of nightcap that should also be useful for a better understanding and better treatment of many neurological diseases.
When discussing the possibility of creating a nightcap with the purpose of cleansing the brain , it is quite difficult to imagine what it is really about. Is it a trinket as there are so many or a project that will quickly be dismissed? In reality, this is a project that received funding from the United States military to the tune of 2.8 million dollars . As explained in a September 29, 2021 release, engineers at Rice University in Texas are collaborating with Baylor College of Medicine and Houston Methodist Hospital.
As the researchers point out, the project is still in its infancy, so no prototype has yet seen the light of day. Nevertheless, the project leaders have already defined their objective, namely to focus their interest on the glymphatic system. Known only since 2012, it embodies what is nicknamed "the sewers of the brain".
During sleep, the glymphatic system purges the brain of metabolic waste through the cerebrospinal fluid. Thus, the future nightcap will carry sensors to measure the flow of this liquid.
The researchers want to use an electroencephalogram (EEG) as well as a rheoencephalogram (REG). The first will be responsible for measuring electrical activity and the second, to measure blood flow . The prototype will also embed an Orbital Sonogram (OSG) for the purpose of sending ultrasound pulses through the eyes. There is also talk of the installation of a transcranial Doppler, the latter being based on another measurement technique using ultrasound.
You should know that the data collected will be processed using machine learning algorithms . In addition, the nightcap could in a second time act on the glymphatic system by means of transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) and low intensity focused ultrasound pulses (LIFUP).
For the US military, the goal is to be able to improve the performance of soldiers by giving them the opportunity to benefit from a better rest. Nevertheless, the project leaders believe that the cap could be also used in medicine to probe all brain diseases in real time. Before getting there, the road will be very long, but the results of the study concerning the prototype should make it possible to formulate initial conclusions.
