An Ultra High-Frequency 8-Channel Neurostimulator Circuit with 68% Peak Power Efficiency

In order to recruit neurons in excitable tissue, constant current neural stimulators are commonly used. Recently, ultra high-frequency (UHF) stimulation has been proposed and proven to have the same efficacy as constant-current stimulation. UHF stimulation uses a fundamentally different way of activating the tissue: each stimulation phase is...

Does a coupling capacitor enhance the charge balance during neural stimulation? An empirical study

Due to their DC-blocking characteristic, coupling capacitors are widely used to prevent potentially harmful charge buildup at the electrode–tissue interface. Although the capacitors can be an effective safety measure, it often seems overlooked that coupling capacitors actually introduce an offset voltage over the electrode–tissue interface as...

Cerebellar Output Controls Generalized Spike-and-Wave Discharge Occurrence

Objective Disrupting thalamocortical activity patterns has proven to be a promising approach to stop generalized spike-and-wave discharges (GSWDs) characteristic of absence seizures. Here, we investigated to what extent modulation of neuronal firing in cerebellar nuclei (CN), which are anatomically in an advantageous position to disrupt cortical...

Design of efficient and safe neural stimulators: A multidisciplinary approach

Neural stimulation is an established treatment methodology for an increasing number of diseases. Electrical Stimulation injects a stimulation signal through electrodes that are implanted in the target area of the central or peripheral nervous system in order to evoke a specific neuronal response that suppresses or treats pathological activity....

High frequency switched-mode stimulation can evoke post synaptic responses in cerebellar principal neurons

This paper investigates the efficacy of high frequency switched-mode neural stimulation. Instead of using a constant stimulation amplitude, the stimulus is switched on and off repeatedly with a high frequency (up to 100 kHz) duty cycled signal. By means of tissue modeling that includes the dynamic properties of both the tissue material as well...

Tissue- or neurostimulator

Tissue- or neurostimulator, comprising a power supply (Vdd) and an implantable pulse generator (IPG) powered by said power supply (Vdd) to which an electrode or electrodes are connected or connectable for delivery of pulses from the pulse generator to a patient's region of interest or tissue so as to provide said region of interest or tissue...