Pulsatile spinal cord surrogate for intradural neuromodulation studies

S. Wilson, M. A. Howard, J. D. Rossen, T. J. Brennan, B. D. Dalm, N. S. Dahdaleh, M. Utz, G. T. Gillies

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

We have designed, built and tested a novel spinal cord surrogate that mimics the low-amplitude cardiac-driven pulsations of the human spinal cord, for use in developing intradural implants to be used in a novel form of neuromodulation for the treatment of intractable pain and motor system dysfunction. The silicone surrogate has an oval cross section, 10mm major axis×6mm minor axis, and incorporates a 3mm diameter×3cm long angioplasty balloon that serves as the pulsation actuator. When pneumatically driven at 1 Hz and 1.5 atmospheres (≈ 1140mm Hg), the surrogate's diametric pulsation is ≈ 100 μm, which corresponds well to in vivo observations. The applications for this surrogate are presented and discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)22-25
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Medical Engineering and Technology
Volume36
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2012

Keywords

  • Intradural devices
  • Neuromodulation
  • Pial surface
  • Spinal cord
  • Tissue surrogates

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biomedical Engineering

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