Gilmour Aaron, Goding Josef, Robles Ulises Aregueta, Staples Naomi, Byrnes-Preston Philip, Morley John, Lovell Nigel H, Chew Daniel J, Green Rylie
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2018 Jul;2018:5475-5478. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2018.8513628.
Nerve block via electrical stimulation of nerves requires a device capable of transferring large amounts of charge across the neural interface on chronic time scales. Current metal electrode designs are limited in their ability to safely and effectively deliver this charge in a stable manner. Conductive hydrogel (CH) coatings are a promising alternative to metal electrodes for neural interfacing devices. This study assessed the performance of CH electrodes compared to platinum-iridium (PtIr) electrodes in commercial nerve cuff devices in both the in vitro and acute in vivo environments. CH electrodes were found to have higher charge storage capacities and lower impedances compared to bare PtIr electrodes. Application of CH coatings also resulted in a three-fold increase in in vivo charge injection limit. These significant improvements in electrochemical properties will allow for the design of smaller and safer stimulating devices for nerve block applications.
通过神经电刺激进行神经阻滞需要一种能够在慢性时间尺度上通过神经接口传输大量电荷的设备。当前的金属电极设计在以稳定方式安全有效地输送这种电荷的能力方面存在局限性。导电水凝胶（CH）涂层是用于神经接口设备的金属电极的一种有前景的替代方案。本研究评估了在体外和急性体内环境中，CH电极与商业神经袖套设备中的铂铱（PtIr）电极相比的性能。与裸露的PtIr电极相比，发现CH电极具有更高的电荷存储容量和更低的阻抗。CH涂层的应用还使体内电荷注入极限提高了三倍。这些电化学性能的显著改善将有助于设计用于神经阻滞应用的更小、更安全的刺激设备。
