An Implantable Wireless Neural Interface System for Simultaneous Recording and Stimulation of Peripheral Nerve with a Single Cuff Electrode.

Ahnsei Shon,Jun-Uk Chu,Inchan Youn,Hyungmin Kim,Jiuk Jung

doi:10.3390/s18010001

Abstract

Recently, implantable devices have become widely used in neural prostheses because they eliminate endemic drawbacks of conventional percutaneous neural interface systems. However, there are still several issues to be considered: low-efficiency wireless power transmission; wireless data communication over restricted operating distance with high power consumption; and limited functionality, working either as a neural signal recorder or as a stimulator. To overcome these issues, we suggest a novel implantable wireless neural interface system for simultaneous neural signal recording and stimulation using a single cuff electrode. By using widely available commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, an easily reconfigurable implantable wireless neural interface system was implemented into one compact module. The implantable device includes a wireless power consortium (WPC)-compliant power transmission circuit, a medical implant communication service (MICS)-band-based radio link and a cuff-electrode path controller for simultaneous neural signal recording and stimulation. During in vivo experiments with rabbit models, the implantable device successfully recorded and stimulated the tibial and peroneal nerves while communicating with the external device. The proposed system can be modified for various implantable medical devices, especially such as closed-loop control based implantable neural prostheses requiring neural signal recording and stimulation at the same time.

Highlights

Neural prosthetic devices have been used for clinical purposes in various applications, including foot-drop correction [1], handgrip assistance [2], pain relief [3] and bladder control [4]
To overcome the aforementioned issues, this study proposes a new implantable wireless neural interface system that consists of a wireless power consortium (WPC)-compliant power transmission circuit, a medical implant communication service (MICS)-band-based radio link and cuff-electrode path controllers
We suggest a practical and affordable implantable wireless neural interface system for simultaneous neural signal recording and stimulation, which can be implemented using readily available small form factor commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, instead of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)

Summary

Introduction

Neural prosthetic devices have been used for clinical purposes in various applications, including foot-drop correction [1], handgrip assistance [2], pain relief [3] and bladder control [4] In the past, those kind of neural interface devices that use percutaneous connections between their electrodes and external devices restrict the subject’s mobility and carry a serious risk of infection because of the lead wires penetrating the skin. The tethered cables are subject to considerable wear and often contaminate the neural signals due to external noise caused by the subject’s movements and nearby power lines [5,6,7] To overcome these drawbacks, implantable wireless devices have attracted significant attention in recent years due to the elimination of infection and noise produced by the wires [8,9,10,11,12].

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion