SAFE DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATOR DESIGN FOR REDUCED POWER AND INCREASED RELIABILITY

摘要

Current state of the art neural prosthetics, such as cochlear implants, spinal cord stimulators, and deep brain stimulators use implantable pulse generators (IPGs) to excite neural activity. Inhibition of neural firing is typically indirect and requires excitation of neurons that then have inhibitory projections downstream. The present invention is directed to a safe direct current stimulator (SDCS) technology that is designed to convert electronic pulses delivered to electrodes embedded within an implantable device to ionic direct current (iDC) at the output of the device. iDC from the device can then control neural extracellular potential with the intent of being able to not only excite, but also inhibit and sensitize neurons, thereby greatly expanding the possible applications of neuromodulation therapies and neural interface mechanisms. The device of the present invention is designed to reduce power consumption by a factor of 12 and to improve its reliability by a factor of 8.