Construction of injectable wireless microstimulators based on rectification of volume conducted high frequency currents
Functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS) refers to the delivery of electrical stimuli to nerves or muscles to enhance, modify or restore motor functions. Despite their invasiveness, implantable systems for FNS offer key advantages over surface and percutaneous systems in terms of selectivity and s...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2022 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | CBUC, CESCA |
| Repositorio: | TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/673986 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10803/673986 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Microstimulators Microelectronics Implantable neuroprostheses Thread-like implants Minimal invasiveness Wireless power transfer (WPT) Volume conduction Hermetic encapsulation Adressable stimulators Microestimuladores Microelectrónica Neuroprótesis implantables Implantes filiformes Invasividad mínima Transferencia de energía inalámbrica (WPT) Conducción volumétrica Encapsulado hermético Estimuladores direccionables 616.7 |
| Sumario: | Functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS) refers to the delivery of electrical stimuli to nerves or muscles to enhance, modify or restore motor functions. Despite their invasiveness, implantable systems for FNS offer key advantages over surface and percutaneous systems in terms of selectivity and safety. Most implantable FNS systems consist of a relatively bulky subcutaneous pulse genera-tor connected through leads to electrodes at the target stimulation sites. In the case of FNS systems for restoring motor functions in patients with paralysis, the leads are long and the electrodes are distributed over large and mobile body parts, thus making them highly invasive and prone to failure. Miniaturized wireless implantable stimulators represent a safer and more reliable alternative. By integrating all the components in the same device, long leads are avoided and minimally invasive implantation procedures are enabled. In this thesis, architectures and construction methods were devised to implement thin (diameter < 1 mm), flexible and biocompatible wireless microstimulators whose operation principle is based in rectifying high frequency currents delivered to tissues by volume conduction. These threadlike devices, which were successfully in vivo assayed, are intended to be deployed by injection forming a dense network of intramuscular addressable stimulators for the development of motor neuroprostheses. They were implemented adapting techniques well accepted in industry to facilitate early clinical adoption. A noteworthy feature of their construction is the inclusion of a biterminal hermetic metallic capsule housing the sophisticated microelectronic circuitry required for their operation. The applicability of the same technology and operation methods to an alternative clinical field was also explored in the scope of this thesis through the development and in vivo assay proof-of-concept novel leadless microstimulators. Furthermore, this thesis has contributed to the development of refined computer models to characterize the stimulation method previously described. |
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