Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3053, Australia.
J Neural Eng. 2023 May 15;20(3). doi: 10.1088/1741-2552/aca69e.
Endovascular neuromodulation has attracted substantial interest in recent years as a minimally invasive approach to treat neurological disorders. In this study, we investigated with a computational model the feasibility of stimulating peripheral nerves with an endovascular stent-mounted electrode array.Anatomically realistic FEM models were constructed for the pudendal and vagal neurovascular bundles. The electromagnetic fields generated from electrical stimuli were computed using Sim4Life NEURON models to predict dynamic axonal responses.The models predict that the stimulation thresholds of the endovascular stent-electrode array configurations tested are comparable to that of ring electrodes and are dependent on the inter-electrode distance and orientation of the device. Arranging multiple electrodes along the longitudinal axis of the nerve lowers surface charge density without sacrificing axon recruitment, whereas arranging electrodes along the circumference of the blood vessel reduces the risk of misalignment but lowers axon recruitment.Overall, this study predicts that the endovascular stent-electrode array is a feasible stimulation option for peripheral nerves, and the electrode array can be flexibly optimized to achieve the lowest stimulation threshold.
近年来，作为一种治疗神经疾病的微创方法，血管内神经调节引起了广泛关注。在这项研究中，我们使用计算模型研究了使用血管内支架式电极阵列刺激外周神经的可行性。针对阴部神经和迷走神经血管束构建了解剖学上逼真的有限元模型。使用 Sim4Life NEURON 模型计算电刺激产生的电磁场，以预测动态轴突响应。模型预测，所测试的血管内支架电极阵列配置的刺激阈值与环电极相当，并且取决于电极之间的距离和设备的方向。沿着神经的纵轴排列多个电极可以降低表面电荷密度，而不会牺牲轴突募集，而沿着血管的圆周排列电极可以降低失准的风险，但会降低轴突募集。总的来说，这项研究预测血管内支架电极阵列是外周神经刺激的一种可行选择，并且可以灵活地优化电极阵列以达到最低的刺激阈值。
