Dario P, Garzella P, Toro M, Micera S, Alavi M, Meyer U, Valderrama E, Sebastiani L, Ghelarducci B, Mazzoni C, Pastacaldi P
Scuola Superiore Sant' Anna, Pisa, Italy.
IEEE Trans Rehabil Eng. 1998 Dec;6(4):353-63. doi: 10.1109/86.736149.
A class of implantable, regeneration-type neural interfaces (NI's) for mammalian peripheral nerve recording and stimulation were developed using different fabrication processes and integrating purposely designed components. A typical NI comprises three main components: 1) a microfabricated silicon die incorporating a microelectrode array on multiple through-holes, 2) a polymer guidance channel housing the die, and 3) a flexible flat cable connecting the die to an external electronic circuitry. The design and fabrication of the NI's were aimed at achieving long term, reliable implants by taking into careful account the biological, electrical, and mechanical requirements of the specific implant site. Different versions of the NI were fabricated and implanted between the severed ends of the sciatic nerve in a mammalian animal model (rabbit). Morphological and histological evidence showed that nerves regenerated through the NI's and electrophysiological results demonstrated the recovery of electrical functionality. Moreover, the NI's allowed stimulation of the regenerated nerve producing a visible leg/foot contraction. The NI's presented in this paper are being further improved in the authors' laboratories with the ultimate goal of allowing the control of nerve motor and sensory functions in future prosthetic devices.
利用不同的制造工艺并集成专门设计的组件，开发了一类用于哺乳动物外周神经记录和刺激的可植入再生型神经接口（NI）。典型的NI包括三个主要组件：1）一个微制造的硅芯片，在多个通孔上集成有微电极阵列；2）一个容纳芯片的聚合物引导通道；3）一根将芯片连接到外部电子电路的柔性扁平电缆。NI的设计和制造旨在通过仔细考虑特定植入部位的生物学、电学和机械要求，实现长期、可靠的植入。制造了不同版本的NI，并将其植入哺乳动物动物模型（兔子）坐骨神经的切断端之间。形态学和组织学证据表明神经通过NI再生，电生理结果证明了电功能的恢复。此外，NI能够刺激再生神经，引起可见的腿部/足部收缩。本文介绍的NI正在作者的实验室中进一步改进，最终目标是在未来的假肢装置中实现对神经运动和感觉功能的控制。
