Evaluation of titanium mesh electrode using for transcutaneous intrabody communication by tissue-electrode impedance

Abstract

We developed a new transcutaneous communication system (TCS) that uses the human body as a conductive medium for monitoring and controlling an artificial heart and other implanted artificial organs in the body. The TCS is able to transmit data between everywhere on the surface of the body and everywhere inside the body, however poor contact between tissue and the electrode influences on communication performance. Thus in this study, we have developed a titanium mesh electrode for the internal transmission electrode. The titanium mesh electrode has advantages of histocompatibility and mechanical stable contact to the tissue by infiltration of the tissue into the titanium mesh like as an extracellular matrix. There titanium mesh electrodes were implanted separately into the dorsal region of the rats under the skin and the electrical performance of the titanium mesh electrode was evaluated by means of measuring the electrode-tissue boundary resistance. In vivo experimental results showed that the titanium mesh electrode had stable mechanical contact to tissue and lower electrode -tissue boundary resistance. In conclusion, the titanium mesh electrode showed excellent histocompatibility it realized stable contact to tissue as anchor, and it had superior electrical property. Thus the titanium mesh electrode is suitable for an internal electrode of the TCS to monitor artificial organs implanted into the body.