Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 5 articles published in JoVE Bioengineering Tools for Surface Treatment of Silicon Planar Intracortical Microelectrodes Olivia K. Krebs1,2, Gaurav Mittal1,2, Shreya Ramani1,2, Jichu Zhang1,2, Andrew J. Shoffstall1,2, Stuart F. Cogan3, Joseph J. Pancrazio3, Jeffrey R. Capadona1,2 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2Advanced Platform Technology Center, Rehabilitation Research and Development, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 3Department of Bioengineering, The University of Texas at Dallas The present protocol describes tools for handling silicon planar intracortical microelectrodes during treatments for surface modification via gas deposition and aqueous solution reactions. The assembly of the components used to handle the devices throughout the procedure is explained in detail. Behavior Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses Jonathon S. Schofield1, Courtney E. Shell1, Zachary C. Thumser1,2, Dylan T. Beckler1, Raviraj Nataraj3, Paul D. Marasco1,4 1Laboratory for Bionic Integration, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, 2Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 3Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, 4Advanced Platform Technology Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center Here we present a protocol which characterizes the sense of agency developed over the control of sensate virtual or robotic prosthetic hands. Psychophysical questionnaires are employed to capture the explicit experience of agency, and time interval estimates (intentional binding) are employed to implicitly measure the sense of agency. Behavior A Novel Single Animal Motor Function Tracking System Using Simple, Readily Available Software Keith R. Dona1,2, Monika Goss-Varley1,2, Andrew J. Shoffstall1,2, Jeffrey R. Capadona1,2 1Advanced Platform Technology Center, Rehabilitation Research and Development, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University The current study aimed to automate the quantification of motor deficits in rats. The initial evaluation model assesses motor loss resulting from an intracortical microelectrode implantation in the motor cortex. We report on the development and use of a tracking algorithm using easily adaptable, simple, and readily available coding software. Bioengineering Rodent Behavioral Testing to Assess Functional Deficits Caused by Microelectrode Implantation in the Rat Motor Cortex Monika Goss-Varley1,2, Andrew J. Shoffstall1,2, Keith R. Dona1,2, Justin A. McMahon1,2, Sydney C. Lindner1,2, Evon S. Ereifej1,2, Jeffrey R. Capadona1,2 1Advanced Platform Technology Center, Rehabilitation Research and Development, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University We have shown that a microelectrode implantation in the motor cortex of rats causes immediate and lasting motor deficits. The methods proposed herein outline a microelectrode implantation surgery and three rodent behavioral tasks to elucidate potential changes in the fine or gross motor function due to implantation-caused damage to the motor cortex. Bioengineering Environmentally-controlled Microtensile Testing of Mechanically-adaptive Polymer Nanocomposites for ex vivo Characterization Allison E. Hess1, Kelsey A. Potter1,2, Dustin J. Tyler1,2, Christian A. Zorman1,3, Jeffrey R. Capadona1,2 1Advanced Platform Technology Center, Rehabilitation Research and Development, Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 3Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Case Western Reserve University A method is discussed by which the in vivo mechanical behavior of stimuli-responsive materials is monitored as a function of time. Samples are tested ex vivo using a microtensile tester with environmental controls to simulate the physiological environment. This work further promotes understanding the in vivo behavior of our material.