Events Calendar

Signal Processing Methods for Diagnosing and Treating Neurological Disorders: A Focus on DBS

Speaker: Otis Smart, Emory University

Talk Title: Signal Processing Methods for Diagnosing and Treating Neurological Disorders: A Focus on DBS

Abstract: Worldwide, millions of patients with neurological disorders have an impaired quality of life, although in some cases successful therapeutic interventions can improve their life quality. Whether a patient has epilepsy, depression, malmovement, or another debilitating brain disease, neurologists and neurosurgeons rely on accurate diagnostic techniques and novel treatment modalities to effectively provide therapy. This talk presents bioengineering approaches, in particular signal processing of brain electrophysiology and electrical brain stimulation, which can contribute to these clinical needs in patient diagnosis and treatment.

Biography: Otis Smart received the B.S. degree in general science from Morehouse College in 2001 and the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2001, 2002 and 2007, respectively. Dr. Smart conducts interdisciplinary human-subjects research for projects that study epilepsy, depression, and movement disorders by applying bioengineering methods. His primary scientific interests focus on providing semi-automatic signal-processing algorithms that serve as reliable decision-support tools for physicians to better understand, diagnose, predict, and modulate pathological activity in patients with neurological disorders. He also applies signal processing analyses for basic science in vivo animal models and in vitro models of brain disorders. His interests also include developing biomedical devices for disease therapy and diagnosis. He currently is an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Emory University, supported by an NINDS postdoctoral career development award. He previously conducted research at the Emory Yerkes Primate Research Center, the Intelligent Control Systems Laboratory at Georgia Tech, the Psychophysiology Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center, and Clemson University. He has also worked as a Radio-Frequency Engineer at Bellsouth Mobility.

Host: Panayiotis Georgiou

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Mary Francis