Electrode Array Development for Recovery of Stepping Following Spinal Cord Injury.

摘要

We have designed and fabricated flexible electrode array system and demonstrated that the epidural stimulating arrays work better and can facilitate locomotion significantly earlier after spinal cord injury than conventional wire epidural stimulating electrodes. We have been able to maintain a functional, implanted array in a complete spinal rat for 6 weeks. We found stable parameters of the electrode array (impedance of electrodes and thresholds of evoked responses) for this period and observed stable rhythmic hindlimb activity facilitated with stimulation from selected electrode combinations. We also found that stimulation with the epidural electrode array could selectively activate spinal pathways responsible for monosynaptic and polysynaptic responses that may provide new perspectives in the assessment of the spinal cord after injury.