Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA 94305 (U.S.A.).
Restor Neurol Neurosci. 1990 Jan 1;2(2):89-102. doi: 10.3233/RNN-1990-2205.
Many of the present limitations of peripheral nerve repair might be overcome by performing nerve repairs at the axon level. One approach to nerve repair at this level would be to implant a neuroprosthesis in the form of a microelectronic switchboard which could route the connections of regenerated axons to their correct destinations. This requires a merger of microsurgery and microelectronics. Three steps are needed to achieve this goal. (1) The achievement of in vivo compatibility and electrical contact between axons and a material compatible with microelectronics. (2) The fabrication of a microelectronic neuroprosthesis with electrodes to establish communication with the axon. (3) The development of signal processing hardware and software to control the mapping of the regenerated axons. This report describes preliminary experiments in regenerating peripheral nerve axons through an electronic-grade silicon chip with laser-drilled holes small enough to capture either one or a few axons per hole. We have observed the viability of such nerves in 4 rats for 6 months to 1 year, and in two primates for more than 3 months. As our experiments show, this technique is not yet as effective as suture repair, but the development of a neuroprosthesis that communicates with peripheral nerve axons could have applications including nerve repair, neuroma, and nerve grafts, as well as interfacing the peripheral nervous system to prostheses of other kinds.
许多目前外周神经修复的局限性可以通过在轴突水平进行神经修复来克服。在这个水平进行神经修复的一种方法是植入一个神经假体，形式为一个微电子电路板，它可以将再生轴突的连接路由到正确的目的地。这需要将显微外科和微电子学结合起来。实现这一目标需要三个步骤。(1)在体内实现轴突与兼容微电子学的材料之间的兼容性和电接触。(2)制造一个带有电极的微电子神经假体，以与轴突建立通信。(3)开发信号处理硬件和软件，以控制再生轴突的映射。本报告描述了通过激光钻有小孔的电子级硅片再生外周神经轴突的初步实验，这些小孔小到可以捕获每个孔中的一个或几个轴突。我们已经在 4 只大鼠中观察了这种神经的存活时间为 6 个月到 1 年，在 2 只灵长类动物中观察了超过 3 个月。正如我们的实验所表明的，这种技术还不如缝线修复有效，但与外周神经轴突进行通信的神经假体的开发可能具有应用，包括神经修复、神经瘤和神经移植，以及将外周神经系统与其他类型的假体相连接。
