Abstract
This paper presents the development of a Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) stimulator system intended for use in early clinical trials for motor recovery after Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). It allows for independent control of multisite/multilevel bilateral (on both sides of the spinal cord) stimulation, it can supply a high output current of 25.4mA, and has the ability to program pulse sequences similar to actual locomotion patterns. These characteristics ultimately provide the required versatility for examining the effects of DRG stimulation on locomotion recovery, which is lacking in currently available commercial systems. The device is created using commercially available components to make the design reproducible by other research labs and to facilitate the critical approval procedure for use in a clinical research environment. Throughout the design phase, essential considerations regarding the safety of the participating patient, as well as of the medical personnel involved, were taken into account and these are analyzed and demonstrated in this paper. Such considerations are very rarely discussed in scientific literature and the authors consider that, apart from the design of the system itself, this discussion is a critical contribution of this paper.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | 2021 10th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering (NER) |
Publisher | IEEE |
Pages | 1125-1129 |
Number of pages | 5 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 978-1-7281-4337-8 |
ISBN (Print) | 978-1-7281-4338-5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2021 |
Event | 10th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering, NER 2021 - Virtual, Online, Italy Duration: 4 May 2021 → 6 May 2021 |
Conference
Conference | 10th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering, NER 2021 |
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Country/Territory | Italy |
City | Virtual, Online |
Period | 4/05/21 → 6/05/21 |