Abstract
A new study with rat sciatic nerve model for peripheral nerve interfacing is presented using a fully-implanted inductively-powered recording and stimulation system in a wirelessly-powered standard homecage that allows animal subjects move freely within the homecage. The Wireless Implantable Neural Recording and Stimulation (WINeRS) system offers 32-channel peripheral nerve recording and 4-channel current-controlled stimulation capabilities in a 3 × 1.5 × 0.5 cm3 package. A bi-directional data link is established by on-off keying pulse-position modulation (OOK-PPM) in near field for narrow-band downlink and 433 MHz OOK for wideband uplink. An external wideband receiver is designed by adopting a commercial software defined radio (SDR) for a robust wideband data acquisition on a PC. The WINeRS-8 prototypes in two forms of battery-powered headstage and wirelessly-powered implant are validated in vivo, and compared with a commercial system. In the animal study, evoked compound action potentials were recorded to verify the stimulation and recording capabilities of the WINeRS-8 system with 32-ch penetrating and 4-ch cuff electrodes on the sciatic nerve of awake freely-behaving rats. Compared to the conventional battery-powered system, WINeRS can be used in closed-loop recording and stimulation experiments over extended periods without adding the burden of carrying batteries on the animal subject or interrupting the experiment.
Highlights
The proposed presented Wireless Implantable Neural Recording and Stimulation (WINeRS) system is equipped with bidirectional data communication through a 433 MHz on-off-keying (OOK) transmitter (Tx) for the wideband uplink that carries the recorded neural data, and pulse position modulation (OOK-PPM) based clock and data recovery (CDR) for the narrow band downlink that provides data for stimulation parameters
In EnerCage-HC2, a power amplifier (PA) drives the Tx coil, L1, to generate an electromagnetic carrier signal at 13.56 MHz, which is a band approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) applications
When the rat showed distinguishable behavioral response from each stimulation, the evoked signal can be observed in 5–10 ms after the stimulus artifact in both commercial system and WINeRS-8 headstage, considering the conduction velocity of the sciatic nerve when it is injured after the implantation surgery (5~20 m/s)[44,45]
Summary
Byunghun Lee[1,3], Mukhesh K. The relatively new concept of “electroceuticals,” which suggests using electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves that control various organs, such as heart and lever, as a substitute for traditional drugs, to achieve a desired outcome, such as adjusting the blood pressure or glucose level, has generated new interest in interfacing with PNS7–9 This trend has resulted in high demand for advanced wireless neural interface, which have a more clear pathway towards clinical application, by neuroscientists over their conventional hardwired counterparts, which cause tethering effects, irritation, and potential infection in the host[2,10]. Wirelessly-powered neural interfaces need a receiver (Rx) coil in the mobile unit with sufficient area to harvest enough power to support continuous recording and stimulation operation This requirement is less challenging to address in headstages[23,24,31,32] being outside of the animal body. The proposed system creates an enriched environment inside the standard homecage for inductively-powered peripheral nerve experiments without adding the burden of carrying large payloads by the freely behaving animal subjects, while eliminating long cables both inside and outside the animal body
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