Lee Sanghoon, Peh Wendy Yen Xian, Wang Jiahui, Yang Fengyuan, Ho John S, Thakor Nitish V, Yen Shih-Cheng, Lee Chengkuo
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering National University of Singapore 4 Engineering Drive 3 Singapore 117583 Singapore.
Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology (SINAPSE) National University of Singapore 28 Medical Drive, #05-COR Singapore 117456 Singapore.
Adv Sci (Weinh). 2017 Jul 26;4(11):1700149. doi: 10.1002/advs.201700149. eCollection 2017 Nov.
Neural modulation technology and the capability to affect organ function have spawned the new field of bioelectronic medicine. Therapeutic interventions depend on wireless bioelectronic neural interfaces that can conformally and easily attach to small (few hundred micrometers) nerves located deep in the body without neural damage. Besides size, factors like flexibility and compliance to attach and adapt to visceral nerves associated moving organs are of paramount importance and have not been previously addressed. This study proposes a novel flexible neural clip (FNC) that can be used to interface with a variety of different peripheral nerves. To illustrate the flexibility of the design, this study stimulates the pelvic nerve, the vagus nerve, and branches of the sciatic nerve and evaluates the feasibility of the design in modulating the function of each of these nerves. It is found that this FNC allows fine-tuning of physiological processes such as micturition, heart rate, and muscle contractions. Furthermore, this study also tests the ability of wirelessly powered FNC to enable remote modulation of visceral pelvic nerves located deep in the body. These results show that the FNC can be used with a range of different nerves, providing one of the critical pieces in the field of bioelectronics medicines.
神经调制技术以及影响器官功能的能力催生了生物电子医学这一新领域。治疗干预依赖于无线生物电子神经接口，该接口能够贴合并轻松附着于位于身体深处的细小（几百微米）神经，且不会造成神经损伤。除了尺寸，诸如灵活性以及附着和适应与运动器官相关的内脏神经的顺应性等因素至关重要，而此前尚未得到解决。本研究提出了一种新型柔性神经夹（FNC），可用于与各种不同的外周神经进行连接。为了说明该设计的灵活性，本研究刺激了盆腔神经、迷走神经和坐骨神经分支，并评估了该设计在调节这些神经功能方面的可行性。研究发现，这种FNC能够对诸如排尿、心率和肌肉收缩等生理过程进行微调。此外，本研究还测试了无线供电的FNC对位于身体深处的内脏盆腔神经进行远程调节的能力。这些结果表明，FNC可用于一系列不同的神经，为生物电子医学领域提供了关键部件之一。
