Selective stimulation of pig radial nerve: comparison of 12-polar and 18-polar cuff electrodes.

Aiming at the development of an implantable neuroprosthesis for restoration of hand function in tetraplegic patients (C5/C6), we examined and compared the stimulation performance of two different neural electrode designs. Our studies on the radial nerve of adult pigs proved the feasibility of selective control of different forearm muscles by using only one multichannel nerve cuff electrode. The results gained by applying a 12-polar cuff electrode design were poor, while the potential of an 18-polar design was very encouraging.