Dalrymple Ashley N, Ting Jordyn E, Bose Rohit, Nieuwoudt Stephan, Franke Manfred, Ludwig Kip A, Shoffstall Andrew J, Fisher Lee E, Weber Douglas J
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Rehab Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Int IEEE EMBS Conf Neural Eng. 2021 May;2021:609-612. doi: 10.1109/ner49283.2021.9441420. Epub 2021 Jun 2.
Chronic pain affects millions of people in the United States and pharmacological treatments have been ineffective. Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation is a neuromodulation method that delivers electrical stimulation to the DRG to relieve pain. DRG electrodes are rigid and cylindrical. The implantation of DRG electrodes requires a technically-challenging surgery that involves steering electrodes laterally towards the DRG. The Injectrode is an injectable conductive polymer that cures in place and is capable of delivering electrical current to stimulate neural tissue. We used the Injectrode to stimulate the L6 and L7 DRG in cats, measuring neural responses evoked in the sciatic, tibial, and common peroneal nerves to measure the thresholds for activating fibers. A cylindrical stainless-steel electrode was used for comparison. Thresholds were 38% higher with the Injectrode versus stainless-steel, likely owing to its larger contact surface area with the DRG. Both Aα and Aβ sensory fibers were activated using DRG stimulation. The Injectrode has the potential to offer a new and simple method for DRG stimulation that can potentially offer more complete coverage of the DRG.
慢性疼痛影响着美国数百万人，而药物治疗一直无效。背根神经节（DRG）刺激是一种神经调节方法，通过向DRG输送电刺激来缓解疼痛。DRG电极是刚性圆柱形的。植入DRG电极需要进行一项技术要求很高的手术，该手术涉及将电极侧向引导至DRG。注射式电极是一种可注射的导电聚合物，可在原位固化，并能够输送电流以刺激神经组织。我们使用注射式电极刺激猫的L6和L7 DRG，测量坐骨神经、胫神经和腓总神经中诱发的神经反应，以测量激活纤维的阈值。使用圆柱形不锈钢电极作为对照。与不锈钢电极相比，注射式电极的阈值高38%，这可能是由于其与DRG的接触表面积更大。使用DRG刺激可激活Aα和Aβ感觉纤维。注射式电极有可能为DRG刺激提供一种新的、简单的方法， potentially offering more complete coverage of the DRG.（原文此处表述有误，正确翻译为“有可能为DRG提供更全面的覆盖”）
