Muscle Recruitment with Intrafascicular Electrodes Article

Nannini, N, Horch, K. (1991). Muscle Recruitment with Intrafascicular Electrodes . IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, 38(8), 769-776. 10.1109/10.83589

cited authors

  • Nannini, N; Horch, K

authors

abstract

  • We have studied muscle recruitment with Teflon-insulated, 25 μm diameter, Pt-Ir intrafasicular electrodes implanted in nerves innervating the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of cats. The purpose of this study was to measure the performance of these bipolar electrodes, which had been designed to optimize their ability to record unit activity from peripheral nerves, as stimulating electrodes. Recruitment curves identified the optimal stimulus configuration as a biphasic rectangular pulse, with an interphase separation of about 500 μs and a duration of about 50 μs. The current required for a half-maximal twitch contraction was on the order of 50 μA. Current and charge densities needed for stimulation were well below levels believed to be safe for the tissue and electrode materials involved. When the spinal reflex pathway was interrupted by crushing the nerve, the force produced by a given stimulus changed in some cases, but not in others, implying that the spinal reflex contribution was not the same in all the implants. We conclude that intrafascicular recording electrodes are also a potentially valuable technology for functional neuromuscular stimulation, and warrant further development. Copyright © 1991 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

publication date

  • January 1, 1991

published in

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

start page

  • 769

end page

  • 776

volume

  • 38

issue

  • 8