Development on an implantable system for relieving phantom pain using transversal intrafascicular electrodes
Abstract
Phantom limb pain develops in the majority of amputees. The underlying mechanisms are not yet com- pletely understood and thus, no treatment is fully effective. Based on recent studies with electrical stimu- lation, we hypothesize that electrical stimulation of afferent nerves with a sufficiently high spatial resolu- tion might alleviate phantom limb pain by giving sensory input to the patient. We present our system con- cepts in general and focus here on a novel electrode concept to selectively interface small nerve fiber ensembles on the fascicular level over the complete cross section of a peripheral nerve: the transversal intrafascicular multichannel nerve electrode (TIME). Electrodes have been developed supported by elec- trical and mechanical simulations of the interface and evaluated with respect to their functional selectivity on peripheral nerves in two animal models.